The Wedding Date
by LilyBartAndTheOthers
Summary: When Jane is invited to Maura's cousin's wedding, she thinks she's on for a nice little weekend. Needless to say that things might take a whole different turn. (Rizzles) Loosely based on the movie of the same name.
1. How To Get Jane To Accept The Invitation

**_Author's note:__ brand new fic - reviews more than appreciated, as usual - daily updates; enjoy!_  
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**Chapter one: How To Get Jane To Accept The Invitation**

Maura cast a last glance at the kitchen counter – bit her lower lip in a gesture of uncertainty – and took a deep breath. She shook her head, trying to sweep away the negative vibes haunting her mind.

It would do it. It had to. The situation was critical enough, she couldn't afford to miss out her rather thin chances. Yet the context didn't play in her favor. Jane didn't owe her anything special, she had not forced her to give into rushed results or – worse – flirt with the lines of illegal actions.

No. The brunette had been irreprochable, lately.

_She really has chosen her moment to be calm. _The main door opened. Maura straightened up. There she went. It was now or never. Smile: on.

Jane dropped a bag by the door and walked – rather happily – to the kitchen. With the same pack of beers as the one that was already on the counter. The one that Maura had bought a bit earlier.

The Italian stopped as she noticed such detail and raised a surprised eyebrow. "You got some? What happened to your resveratrol campaign?"

_Come on. It is now or never, Isles. _"Just because wine is healthier doesn't mean we can't drink a beer from time to time. Besides..." Moving to a tray covered by tinfoil, she cleared her voice and – with a dramatic gesture – took the silver-colored paper off to reveal the dish she had cooked. "It goes better with these burgers..." And another step on her right, towards a bowl. Tinfoil: off as well. "And with these French fries. Homemade French fries."

Jane gasped, more than taken aback. She bent over the counter and squinted her eyes as if looking – rather sharply – for the detail that would ruin everything. But there was nothing, this time. Not even a single leaf of kale. The only green touch came from pickles.

"These aren't tofu ones, are they?" Better safe than sorry. After all, she knew Maura quite well. Way too much, if she had to be completely honest.

The scientist laughed – her eyes glimmering of amusement in the delicate light of the night – as she shook her head rather vehemently.

"Turkey burgers. The only part I slipped is bacon. I don't want to be responsible of the disastrous – and yet I measure my words – condition of your arteries."

The comment made Jane smirk. She loved Maura more than she had ever loved anyone. The honey blonde was smart – a bit quirky at times – but mostly sweet. The sweetest person she had ever met, actually.

The last weeks had been tough – for the two of them – and here she came, with a surprise and delicious dinner. Something she wouldn't have chosen for herself. Obviously, she had cooked it just to please Jane.

"I suppose I can survive without bacon, for once. Is it paprika you put on the French fries?" Daring a boiled gesture, the detective picked up one and chewed on it.

Maura nodded. "It is, indeed. I found the idea on the web then gave it a try. The result isn't bad."

More than convinced, Jane sat on a stool and rolled her eyes. "Hell, definitely not." She reached out for a bottle of beer, pre-opened.

"Oh, no! Wait!" Waving like a mad woman, Maura shook her head and started gesticulating to make her friend stop. "We will have dinner in the living-room; in front of television. I know that there is a game on tonight and am sure that you would love following it."

Bottle halfway to her lips – up in the air already – Jane froze. Alright. Now she was becoming a tad suspicious. "Did I... Make it to some sort of Twilight Zone when passing the door?"

Maura got tense. Her smile began to tremble a bit. "Why? Oh wait, how silly am I! I have forgotten to take the Ketchup out of the fridge." Nervous chuckle.

Jane squinted her eyes at the scene and watched how the blonde put the bottle on the counter with a slight hesitation. She moved on her stool – cast a brief glance at the kitchen – ran her tongue on her lips before clearing her voice.

Bottle of beer: back on the counter.

"Okay. What's going on?"

Silence. Shrug. Another nervous chuckle from Maura. "I don't see what you are talking about."

Jane blinked – knowing better than that – and motioned at the honey blonde's neck before her tired voice piercing through the house. "Hives..."

"Argh!"

This time, the Italian burst out laughing and shook her head. The situation was confusing. What was going on that Maura didn't dare to say? Had she broken something? Was she guilty of anything? Her behavior didn't make much sense right now. Jane couldn't put her finger on the problem.

"What is it, Maur'? Wait." Jane turned livid – realization suddenly kicking in – and with the ghost of a panicked voice, she looked all around her. "Where is Jo Friday? She didn't welcome me back. She is alright, isn't she? What happened to her?"

Maura widened her eyes. Her turn to look confused.

"She is peaceful sleeping by the fireplace, Jane..." And as if to prove her point, she pointed out at an armchair by the flames.

The Italian turned around and sighed of relief. Her dog was there; huddled up and peacefully asleep. But then what was it? Why was Maura playing the perfect host like that? It was almost scaring now she thought about it.

"... Okay... So you didn't accidentally kill Jo Friday..." Ignoring the mock of horror on her friend's face, Jane went on. "Then what is it?" And then she spotted it, by the sink. Gasp. "Oh my God. The chocolate fondant! You need a favor, don't you?"

Maura made a face. Busted. Perhaps she had been a bit too far when baking Jane's favorite dessert. Things were turning out to be way too evident. No subtlety whatsoever. Sadly enough.

_You are screwed, Isles. Accept the fact and tell her the truth. Right now. _"I was wondering if you err, well... If you were available in two weeks? February, 26th."

Jane shrugged, unsure of whether she should say yes. In theory, she was. But when it came to some suggestions from her friend, 'theory' was nothing but fragile.

"Why?" Suspicious tone of voice. She should have known better. Of course, this dinner was not at all deprived of any interest. How could have she even believed so in the first place? She was not a novice, dammit!

"My cousin Apolline is getting married and I was wondering if you would like to come with me. As a guest, you know." Maura bit her lips. No need to tell Jane that she had already RSVP.

"I'm sorry... What's your cousin's name again?" The brunette slightly bent over and shook her head.

Maura swallowed hard. She was sweating – her heart was beating way too fast – and the room was somewhat starting to spin around. In a word, she was on the verge of passing out. Because of stress.

"Apolline? She was named after Apolline of Alexandria. In 250, Dèce – the emperor – published an edict asking all the citizens to sacrifice people to the gods in order to save the empire. Apolline was their third victim. People broke her jaw – as well as her teeth – before dragging her to a stake where they forced her to insult God. She refused – politely enough – and threw herself in the flames. Such edict marks the beginning of another persecution of Christians."

Jane raised an unconvinced eyebrow. "How sweet."

Timidly enough but not missing her friend's sarcasm, Maura shrugged and fought against herself to keep her hands still; on top of the kitchen counter. "So my cousin is getting married to her long time boyfriend. Would you like to join me? The wedding will be hosted at the family mansion. Very nice and peaceful place, in the countryside."

The brunette took a deep breath – tilted her head on a side – and ended up nodding. "Why not. I'm not sure your family will be very fond of me but hey... A weekend out of Boston might turn out to be quite nice. With the crazy weeks we've just had, a bit of fresh air can't do harm."

The veil of uncertainty that had darkened Maura's features disappeared suddenly, pushed away by a bright smile.

"Perfect! Of course, we will have to go shopping a bit. I am afraid that you don't own the required... Outfits... For such wedding. I take charge of the rest. You don't have to worry about anything else."

Jane nodded. Maura's reaction – very expressive – took her aback. Why was the scientist so extreme before a rather random event? Was she that much afraid of her family? The brunette picked another couple of French fries. She had seen Maura interact with Constance. She knew the awkwardness of their relation. Was it the same when it came to her cousins?

"How old is she? How old is teethless Apolline?"

This time, Maura missed the sarcasm completely. "What? Apolline has all her teeth... She isn't the one from Alexandria." But seeing that her friend didn't reply, she resumed. "She is thirty-five years old."

Not bad. Jane began to relax. At least the guests – family apart – would probably be around Maura's age and thus hers. Nothing to worry about.


	2. How To Hide Some Facts From Jane

**_Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews; suggestions more than welcome (I'll try to insert them one way or another)_  
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**Chapter two: How To Hide Some Facts From Jane**

The plane took off, Boston disappearing under their feet at an impressive speed. Leaned against the window, Jane sighed and closed her eyes.

"You know, Maura... When you told me the family mansion was in the countryside, you could have been more specific and let me know that you were actually talking about the Scottish countryside."

A timid smile appeared on the medical examiner's lips as she looked down at her lap, embarrassed. She shrugged, let a nervous laugh hit the air.

"I wasn't sure that you would have accepted to come with me if I had said so. But look at the bright side! You now have a full week of vacation. When was the last time you actually took days off?"

Jane opened her eyes back – stared at the seat in front of her – and pondered the question. This was not entirely wrong. Although she would have probably chosen a sunnier destination if she had to be honest. Yet she couldn't believe that her friend had convinced Cavanaugh in her back to allow her to leave for such a long time, at the last minute.

"Is that mansion haunted?"

This time, Maura burst out laughing. "Not that I know of. And as much as you will see men in kilts for the wedding, I am afraid that – during the rest of time – they wear more casual outfits. These are clichés, Jane. However Nessie..."

The brunette turned her head, widened her eyes; more surprised than anything else by the very last comment.

"You – the great scientist – believe in the monster of The Loch Ness?" Jane blinked. Now this was unexpected. Maura had a Cartesian mind. Paranormal facts didn't belong to her world.

But the smirk that timidly appeared on Maura's lips swept away her slight panic. Awesome. Maura had chosen the perfect timing to give it a try at jokes.

"Not very much, I am afraid. There might be something there – in the waters – but it is probably an animal of some sort. There are so many species that we tend to..."

Jane closed back her eyes and grabbed her pillow to pin it against the window. A nine-hour flight. If she didn't want to become a Loch Ness specialist thanks to Maura's random talk, then she had to fall asleep now.

"Champagne?"

A soft voice ruined her plans. She opened an eye – carefully enough – only to face a smiling flight attendant. Maura was already sipping on her own drink. Jane nodded and accepted the glass as well as the tapenade on toasts. Traveling First Class had its advantages, obviously.

"So, Maur'..." Not caring much about the fact she was talking with her mouth full, Jane frowned in concentration and sipped on her Champagne. "Who is your cousin getting married to? I have to say you remained rather quiet these past two weeks about it. And by that, I don't just mean the fact that the ceremony's taking place in Scotland."

Damn. How could she have skipped such a fact?

...

"Are we getting there soon? I so need to pee." _So much for not going when at the airport, Rizzoli... Especially after insisting on having a beer. _Jane cast a slightly desperate glance at Maura.

The honey blonde rolled her eyes and sighed before pointing out at a few houses by the window of their taxi.

"This is the village. The mansion is two-minute away from it, on the road you can see that goes up and behind the cliff."

As much as her voice betrayed anxiety, Maura kept on smiling brightly. This was not the right time to stir up doubts in Jane even if the Italian probably assumed that it was just family related. Who actually enjoyed such a gathering? It was synonym of torture for anyone who happened to have common sense; and aunts – uncles – or cousins.

"Oh! There's a lake... If I wasn't freezing my ass off and in need of a bathroom break, I would stop now to go for a walk. Can we go there during the week?"

Maura smiled at Jane's almost childish excitement. She was happy to be there with her although a tad anxious as well, to be honest. There were way too many things that the brunette ignored. Way too many statements a bit too far from the truth. Perhaps it was vain but – deep inside – the honey blonde hoped that everything would remain untold; quietly ignored.

Discretion was a great sport in her family. This tended to reassure her.

Somehow. Vaguely.

"Oh, most definitely. We have a small boat. I am sure that Laurence will be just fine lending it to us for an afternoon."

"Who's that? Another cousin?" Her curiosity piqued, Jane abandoned the contemplation of the small village as they drove through the streets and looked back at Maura.

The scientist shook her head. "One of my uncles. He is the one who lives here on a permanent basis while the rest of the family tends to visit once or twice a year. Mostly in the summer, though. When the temperatures are warmer..."

The taxi took the lonely road up the cliff – overlooking the lake – before turning on their right as an alley appeared. Jane gasped.

"Okay... Maybe you need a new dictionary, Maura... Because this is so not a mansion. It's a freaking manor." Impressed, the brunette moved on her seat and craned her neck to have a better view. She hissed. "I'm going to need a GPS to find the nearest bathroom. I'm so screwed."

Maura chuckled but suddenly straightened up as the taxi stopped by the main entrance. She opened the door – put a foot on the ground – and took a deep breath. Here she went. She had barely made it out of the car that a high-pitched voice made her jump and mumble inaudible words.

"I am getting marriiiiiiiieeeeed!"

Maura turned around – smiled brightly – and opened her arms as Apolline threw herself at the last second in the improvised embrace; her blond curls going straight into the medical examiner's eyes who made a face.

"You are, indeed... Congratulations." Maura broke the hug with difficulty, made a step backwards to properly look at her cousin. "You look fantastic!"

"Thank you, Spooky Mo'." But sharp as ever, Apolline didn't miss Jane who was clumsily waiting by Maura's side; hands in the pockets of her brand new beige pants the honey blonde had insisted on buying in Boston, claiming it was part of the whole wedding plan.

Jane tended her hand. "Hi... I mean, hello. I'm Jane. Jane Rizzoli."

Cheerful, Apolline shook the detective's hand and raised an appreciative eyebrow at Maura. "An Italian... How exotic!" The woman focused back on the brunette. "Nice to meet you. I am Apolline. Welcome to Scotland."

But the blonde's attention got suddenly caught by something happenning in Jane's back and within a second – without excusing herself – she ran to a woman who was carrying a giant bouquet of white lilies. "Molly! Hadn't we agreed on getting the flowers by Tuesday? They won't look so fresh if we get some today..."

"So that was Apolline." Maura smiled at Jane apologetically.

"I saw that... Spooky Mo'." The Italian smirked. Five minutes in and she was already finding out – rather deliciously – one of the scientist's ridiculous nicknames. Obviously, this week would be as fantastic as the Champagne on the flight had been.

"Good morning, Miss."

A butler in his sixties showed up out of nowhere, scaring Jane to death. He was as pale as a ghost – although rather elegant – and since Maura offered him a bright smile, the brunette assumed that he was indeed alive; and harmless.

"Good morning, Charles. How are you?"

With a gesture highlighting years of experience, the man grabbed their suitcases and walked back to the large house.

"I am fine, Miss."

Silence. Jane raised an eyebrow. A man of very few words, obviously. Feeling intimated, she simply followed her friend – and the butler – inside the mansion. They took the stairs to the third floor and turned on their left, walking down a long – dark – corridor. Old family portraits were hanging there on the walls, contrasting sharply with the music blaring from downstairs and the smell of chicken – roasted one – escaping from the kitchen.

In spite of appearances, the house was very much alive.

Charles finally stopped and opened a door inviting both women to come in. They obliged. The room overlooked the lake that spread a bit further down the cliff; a thin fog floating above the waters. The scene was almost mystical if Jane had to be honest. Somewhat frightening. Not so inviting anymore.

The butler left.

"This place would be perfect for an episode of _American Horror Story_."

Maura smiled at the comment – took her stilettos off – and walked barefoot to the window where Jane was standing. She observed the landscape and sighed heavily.

"I was more thinking about _Wuthering Heights_ but now you are saying..."


	3. How To Introduce A Bunch of Relatives

**_Author's note: thank you for all the reviews; I take note of the jealousy thing and will add it somewhere._  
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**Chapter three: How To Introduce A Bunch of Relatives**

"Where is she?"

The voice that rose in Maura's back made the honey blonde grin. She turned around and warmly let her cousin Amy take her in her arms. The red head laughed.

"Watch out, Yankee. Don't make me spill my Champagne. You know how Apolline doesn't like it – probably even less for her wedding – when I end up licking the floor for a wasted drink."

"It is nice to see you as well, Amy." Without waiting for a reply, Maura grabbed her cousin's glass and drank it down; not caring much about the protest such gesture stirred up. On the contrary. She pouted. "Oh, please. If there is someone in this room who needs a drink then it has to be me."

Her bitterness betrayed silent feelings. Not eager to add anything, Maura looked down at the floor and tried to smile but it wouldn't come. Thankfully, the room was crowded – people going from a group to another to chat rather loudly – and none paid attention to her that much. It did have its advantages at times to be slightly invisible to the family.

"Something tells me Apolline is taking you up to the challenge." With a discreet motion of the head, Amy pointed out at the woman in question who was going all giggly with a few guests. "So. Where is she? When Anne told us that you were coming with someone, I thought she had had another seizure or that dementia was kicking in."

Nervousness passed under Maura's skin. She knew that this moment would have to happen at some point.

Unfortunately.

It couldn't just go and Jane pass unnoticed.

She looked around – scanned the room – and went on her tiptoes. "Oh... She is... She should be here within a minute, now. She went back to our room to pick up her cell phone." _Hopefully not to trade her stilettos for tennis shoes at the same time. _

"Mobile. Have you forgotten about your manners, Yankee? This isn't the US, here..." Amy winked and looked into the direction of the main door through which the large stairs leading to the floors – the upper ones – appeared. "Where did you meet?"

Maura ran her tongue over her lips. "At work. I mean... At the cafe just by the BPD. I assumed she was a prostitute."

"How nice."

The scientist smiled. "She was still dressed as one, going as an undercover. Jane is a detective... A homicide detective." And just as Maura finished her sentence, the Italian appeared by the door, still wearing her stilettos. Relief. "Here, she is."

Maura discreetly waved at her friend; not that she was eager to go through such face-to-face. Until now, her relatives had barely stopped by to say hello but she knew that Amy would ask for more. A lot more.

Jane nodded and approached.

"Well... You know I'm all for guys but she's definitely one fine piece of candy. Congrats, cousin... Is she just a pass time?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Maura shook her head. "No. She is the right one." _Except she has no idea about that._

Jane finally made it to the medical examiner and politely smiled at the red head standing next to her. The only thing she had got so far concerning Maura's family was that they weren't there for a talk – only a polite nod – before rushing to another group to laugh away their last country club stories.

"Hello, gorgeous. I'm Amy, the Yankee's cool cousin." The woman held out her hand and vigorously shook Jane's.

Taken aback by the sudden effusion of feelings, the detective smiled back – repressed a laugh at the second nickname she learned about Maura – and accepted a glass of Champagne that a waiter held out to her. "Nice to meet you." It wouldn't have killed to add that Maura had talked a lot about her but it wasn't true. Needless to say the scientist had always remained rather quiet about her family.

"Homicide detective, right? If aunt Winnifred starts playing the piano, we might need your skills on a case because I'm not sure I have enough strength to face another endless concert from her."

Someone called Amy a bit further. The red head repressed a sigh of annoyance and made a face at Jane and Maura. "Sorry love birds, looks like I'm needed on the other side of the room. Talk to you soon!"

For long seconds, the Italian remained quiet – taken aback by the woman – and finally frowned; a bit confused. Maura didn't miss it and began to panic.

Love birds. Let it to Amy to make allusions when Jane had no idea who she was supposed to be to the eyes of every single guest present in the room.

"Don't take it bad, Maur', but... Are you sure you're the only one adopted in your family? Because she surely looks like a black sheep, to me."

...

She hadn't meant to lie. Anyway, she couldn't physically do it. The thing was that she hadn't denied what her aunt had alluded to when she had said that she would come with Jane. It might have been stupid – if not just crazy – but Maura didn't want to show up at her cousin's wedding single. Blame the circumstances.

Who wanted to attend a wedding where the groom was the man who had broken your heart to the point you had decided to move on the other side of the ocean?

She had to make a happy comeback to Scotland, if only to prove everyone that she had turned the page. Which she had. It was just a matter of... Of what? Self-esteem, perhaps.

"Maur'?"

Jane's voice took her out of her daydreams. Cuddled on an armchair by one of the windows of their bedroom, the honey blonde turned her head around and looked at her friend.

She wasn't lying, anyway. Jane was the love of her life. If she had had doubts for a while, she was sure of it now. She could recognize the signs to the point she had turned into a ridiculous cliché of the symptoms one could have. Heart beating faster, hands moist. Incapacity to focus on anything – absolutely anything else – when Jane was around. She went to bed thinking about her and woke up wondering where she was; whether she was already up, getting ready for work. Her whole life was defined by Jane.

Secretly enough.

"Yes?"

Still wearing the black dress she had showed up in for the cocktail a couple of hours earlier, Jane – bothered – walked to her friend and turned her back at her. "The bath's ready but I can't get out of this. Would you mind to unzip it? For some reason, it's kind of stuck."

Maura stood up – the woolen shawl sliding down her shoulders – and obliged. The dress slid down, revealing Jane's olive skin; her curves, athletic but nonetheless rather feminine. The honey blonde swallowed hard and – reluctantly – made a step backwards before setting back on the armchair. Her fingertips burning after the light touch with her friend's flesh.

"There you go."

Somewhat prude, Jane held the dress with her hands – above her bra – and giggled away a thanks before trotting to the bathroom. She closed the door behind her; quietly enough.

What if someone confronted them to the lie? What if Jane found out about it? Maura moaned and closed her eyes in an attempt to get rid of such thoughts. _Everything is going to be alright. Stick to this as if it were your new mantra. _

But still, the idea didn't stop haunting her mind.

For the moment, nothing had happened. The secret was still on in spite of Amy's allusion but oddly enough, Jane didn't seem to have paid attention to it. _Love birds_. Maura rolled her eyes. The danger would come from the red head. That it was certain. The others were discreet enough to not make an allusion to anything.

Even less about her past; that part she had never told her friend about.

The heavy – deep red – curtains moved just a foot away from her. She gasped and put a hand over her heart as a gray cat appeared from behind and unceremoniously walked to her to settle there on her lap.

"Why hello, Amadeus..."

Laurence's cat. Maura had known it when he was still a kitten. But he was old, now. Old and lonely. _A bit like me... You and I are alike. _

She was caressing him absentmindedly – observing the night falling over Plockton by the window – when her cell phone vibrated. She grabbed the item and opened the message; smiled at it.

_Is there room service in this manor?_

_Jane_

Playfully – amused by the fact the brunette was in the room next door in her bath – Maura typed a reply and sent it.

_There is, indeed. But I am afraid that the context doesn't allow it, right now._

_Dinner is at 7.30pm_

_Maura_


	4. How To Avoid Some Subjects With Jane

**_Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews; I have no idea how many chapters this story will be but since I seem to go rather slow in the development, there might be quite a few (and by that I mean more than 10/15)._  
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**Chapter Four: How To Avoid Some Subjects With Jane**

"Maura's... Friend, right?"

Unsure of whether she should feel glad that someone was finally talking to her and trying to ignore the hesitation over the qualifying term supposed to define her, Jane smiled at a dark-haired man in his early forties. Rather good-looking.

"Yes. I'm Jane, Jane Rizzoli." She held out her hand to him before casting a brief glance at the room hoping to see Maura show up any moment now.

The dinner was about to start and the honey blonde was still getting ready in their bedroom. Out of boredom, Jane had decided to somewhat ferret about the house in the meantime but she seemed to have made it to the dining-room before her friend nonetheless. To her highest despair.

"Andrew, nice to meet you. Maura surely has upgraded her relation interests. If I had known about it earlier, I would have come to visit her to Boston already!"

The obvious flirting took Jane completely aback. She hadn't expected that to happen. Not at all. At absolutely no moment.

In a desperate attempt to hide the red shade that had rushed up her cheeks – sweeping away the little voice in her head that kept on telling her she looked stupid – she giggled and was about to reply when a very well known voice rose in her back.

Coldly enough, though. Sharp.

"How is your wife doing, Andrew?" Fists clenched – a forced smile on her lips – Maura stared at her cousin and slightly pushed Jane aside by the waist to make sure the brunette would keep a reasonable distance with the man.

"Too busy to come, I'm afraid..."

Maura raised an eyebrow and smirked mischievously before taking Jane by the hand rather firmly.

"Oh, she can't come? And there I was thinking that your impressive so-called romantic background would at least make sure that you would master the feminine anatomy by now."

Before Andrew had a chance to add anything, she dragged a shocked Jane to the other side of the room and stopped once safe only; playing with the hem of her sleeves.

Astounded – yet not daring to openly burst out laughing to not catch everyone's attention – Jane hid a smile as she looked at her friend; standing somewhere between surprise and pride.

"I'd have never imagined I'd see the day when Maura Isles puts back in question a man's capacity to satisfy his wife in bed... Maur', are you drunk – jet lagged – or just unleashed?"

Someone rang a small bell and all the guests politely joined the large table, looking for their names on the labels. Maura sat down and crossed her hands before resting her chin on top of them.

"This is the Andrew special treatment. Please keep your distance with him. I assure you that it is the best for you. He might be good-looking, he is also the worst asshole Earth has ever known."

Jane widened her eyes. What was going on? First Maura being snappy and now she gave into words that didn't belong much to her usual vocabulary. What was in the Scottish waters, exactly? Troubled, she nonetheless focused on her side of the table. Amy was sitting opposite her, a woman in her late – quite late – sixties on her right facing Maura. She had met her during the cocktail party but could not remember her name.

"Renewing with Andrew, I see?" Amy smirked, more amused than anything. She winked at Jane. "Please forgive him. He can't resist women even when it's mission impossible..."

"How is Annabelle?"

The question got welcome by an uncomfortable – heavy – silence. And Jane's confusion as Maura looked down and took a deep breath. She had turned livid to say the least. Yet the woman facing her kept a perfect smile on, not bothered the least by her own words.

Amy scoffed, slightly embarrassed. "I'm not sure it's the best thing to talk about the past when... The _present_ is here, aunt Deirdre."

Jane smiled, out of politeness. Her mother would have been proud of her behavior so far becausehe was – and yet she measured her words – utterly lost by the conversation. They would have been speaking Chinese that it would have been the same, for her. Who was Annabelle? And why had Maura got a sudden interest in her napkin to the point she hadn't looked back at her aunt yet?

"I haven't got news for a while...?"

The scientist's voice floated like a whisper, a trembling one. Carrying all the weight of a desperate attempt to sound detached and proud. It resulted in a miserable fail but nobody insisted and gently enough, Amy decided to take the conversation towards something different. Way lighter, apparently.

...

The blanket up to her chin, Jane stared at the ceiling; lost in her thoughts. It was late and she was jet lagged; exhausted.

The temperatures had drastically fallen and she was cold in spite of the flames in the fire place opposite the four-poster bed.

"Have people died here?"

Make-up remover in hand, Maura walked out of the bathroom and frowned at the brunette. "This is a very old mansion. It must have happened, indeed. Why are you asking such thing?"

Jane shrugged of a fake casualness that didn't fool anyone. "So the noises I've just heard might not be the ones of the wind or the wood crackling and such..."

Maura burst out laughing and shook her head in disbelief before heading back to the bathroom. "It is not a ghost, Jane. This is a very old house, so the noises you are hearing are perfectly normal and not caused by any mysterious force or... Some soul that would be wandering through the corridors... Or in this exact bedroom."

The light coming from the bathroom got turned off and soon Maura walked back into the room but went straight to the bed, this time. She slid under the blanket – rolled on her side to face Jane – and smiled.

"I swear to you that there is no ghost. However if you feel something walk on you during the night, it will probably be Amadeus."

The brunette frowned and turned her head around. "Like in Mozart?"

Maura nodded happily. "He is Laurence's cat and tends to like this bedroom. He is very sweet and loves snuggling. And purring." She marked a pause and yawned. "Are you reassured, now?"

Jane raised an unconvinced eyebrow but nonetheless turned the lamp of her bedside table off. Only the flames in the fireplace somewhat lit up the room and – in all honesty – she was rather glad they were not completely in the dark. There was something spooky about this house, at night.

That and the lack of traffic sound. She was a city girl. The silence of the countryside didn't reassure her the slightest bit.

"Maura?" As if to get rid of the burning sensation on her lips, Jane ran her tongue over them; made sure to avoid her friend's gaze on her.

She wasn't sure it was the right time to ask for it but the truth was that Deirdre's allusion – as well as Maura's reaction, even Amy's – had caught her attention during the dinner to the point she was now dying to know who Annabelle was.

_It's none of your business, Rizzoli. Respect Maura's silence. She doesn't want to talk about it, obviously. _

"Hmm?"

By the sound of the honey blonde's voice, Jane came to the conclusion that she was already sleepy; her eyes closed. She couldn't blame her. They had had a very long day and by what she had heard during the dinner, it wouldn't be any quieter the next morning.

Very briefly, she cast a glance at Maura. The medical examiner had settled there – turned towards her – on a large pillow. She looked relaxed.

This is when it struck Jane. Her friend had really been tense all day long. She only saw it now that – on the verge of sleeping – her features had lightened up and looked less deep.

"Nothing. Never mind..." Jane paused. "Well, actually... It's kind of cold. Do you mind if..."

But before she had a chance to finish her sentence, Maura had already obliged; opening her arms to her so she could snuggle there in her embrace. It didn't happen very often but it wasn't the first time either. Shamefully enough for Jane. It wasn't wrong in itself – the position was soothing and she did need it at times – but deep inside, she knew that it wasn't a common gesture either. Not at their age. Maura knew it as well.

The fact they never talked about it was loud enough to express a thousand things; blurry wonders, a couple of what-ifs.

But then who cared? Who cared what the others could have said about it? Jane closed her eyes and let Maura's scent go to her head. Bewitchingly? She frowned, bit her lower lip. She found peace in her friend's arms. The powerful sentiment of feeling fine. It was rare enough to not let go of it because of what society would have said about such habit.

"Good night." Maura accompanied her words of a kiss on top of the brunette's head.

Jane smiled.


	5. How To Take Advantage of Disadvantages

_**Author's note: thank you for all the reviews; for the guest who posted a review about the similarities in plots, I have replied at the end of the chapter as it is a bit longer.**_

**Chapter Five: How To Take Advantage of Disadvantages**

In theory, it didn't own the slightest ounce of logic. Men had the capacity to lie, not necessarily convincingly but still. None of them broke into hives nor literally passed out.

None but Maura.

For a long time, she had wondered if she was normal; if there wasn't something in her DNA that had gone terribly wrong and had deprived her of such basic ability. But not finding the mere answer to a rather delicate mystery that science couldn't properly explain, she had ended up deciding to embrace instead the disadvantage and work hard to take advantage of it.

Complicated mission; the result not being always successful, unfortunately.

"Okay, I'm here! Sorry for the delay. I was on the phone with Frost." Breathless, Jane stopped by the stables and offered an apologetic smile at Amy – Apolline – and Maura.

The honey blonde frowned, suddenly worried. "Is everything alright?"

She cast a glance at Jane and couldn't help but smile at the effort the Italian had made. The brunette was wearing beige pants – brown boots – and a gray woolen sweater under a tweed jacket. With her hair up in a bun – a few strands not having resisted to the run, framing now her face gracefully – she could have passed for a woman from the British nobility in spite of her Mediterranean roots.

"Oh yeah. Just the usual daily teasing and such. What do you want, the guys can't live without me."

"Friends?" Amy barely finished her question and focused back on the mare standing by her side. A beautiful black one. She caressed it peacefully.

Maura nodded. "And colleagues." Grabbing Jane by the hand, she took her to a brown mare that was rather peacefully waiting by the group. "This is Arsinoe. She will be perfect for you." Before Jane had a chance to make a comment, Maura rushed in. "Arsinoe like in Moliere."

Amy and Apolline were nice but used to hang out with upper-social class people who had attended international schools. Jane hadn't. The last thing Maura wanted was her friend to feel in the way.

"Will you be alright, with her? I am riding Camilla..."

"Thank God we know you are talking here about a horse." Apolline made a face and smirked which made Maura blush and Amy burst out laughing.

Jane smiled politely. She really had a hard time with the Scottish sense of humor.

"Perfect. Arsi... It'll do just fine, thanks!"

Maura smiled – reassured – and helped the detective to settle on the mare. As much as Jane had told her that she had already gone horse riding in the past, the blonde had no idea whatsoever about her friend's level and felt a bit anxious. Yet a lot less than leaving her go alone with Amy and Apolline as it had been planned in the first place.

Jane must have started wondering why she clutched to her so much, all the time. The breakfast had been rather informal but even by then Maura had followed her everywhere. She needed to loosen it but couldn't. It was too risky.

_Here's what you get for letting people believe wrong things, Isles. _

Once ready, the four women left the stables and trotted towards the main road. The view was quite breathtaking. Up on the horse, Jane observed how the fog was still floating above the lake and the ribbon of grass on the cliff. It was a very cold day, humid at its best. Perhaps she should have tried to convince Maura to stay in by the fireplace instead as much as it would have meant talking to all these people she barely knew and somewhat looked at them both with an air of disapproval.

For whatever reason.

"Are you alright?"

Apolline's voice took her out of her contemplations and as she made it back to reality, Jane realized that Maura and Amy were a bit ahead of her already. She nodded at the future bride who had nicely enough waited for her.

"I haven't had a chance to talk to you yet – then at the same time, you only arrived yesterday – but... I am glad that you are here and that Maura accepted to attend James and I's wedding. I was very afraid that she wouldn't come considering the circumstances."

Jane frowned. Maura had surely remained evasive – as she always did when it came to her past and her family – and all of a sudden the Italian wasn't sure how to react.

The medical examiner was not talkative, not in the sense that she easily confided in people about her feelings. It had taken Jane a lot of time and patience to finally build trust between them. Years to get to the friendship they now shared.

"She and James... They haven't talked much since he broke up with her to be with me instead... She assured me that she is fine with it, now. Yet I feel terribly guilty in spite of knowing he is the one I want to marry. The situation is delicate, isn't it? Sure she turned the page and met other people, that is quite obvious! But still..."

Taken aback by the news, Jane cast a glance at Maura who had stopped and was now waiting on the side of the road; a large smile lighting up her features. Something ached in the brunette's heart. Not anger – not at all – but pain for what her friend was obviously keeping for herself.

Maura must have been going through hell.

...

"Alright... Are you ready?"

Amused, Jane bent over – up to the challenge – and nodded at the old man. Concentration: on. She could do it. She had drunk way too much to her own taste but she wanted to prove that she could nonetheless win this.

The man smiled. "What is our family clan?"

"MacLeod. This one is easy. Even after three glasses of whiskey." Jane winked at cousin Tuppence and cast a glance at Maura who was sipping on her drink on the armchair next to hers.

"What is our crest?"

Okay. This one was a bit tougher to remember, even after the lecture about the family before the union to the Irish side that had settled the fusion now dominating the family tree.

"A bull's head cabossed sable, armed Or between two flags gules, staved of the first. Motto: Hold Fast." Perfect. A smile of victory played on her lips. "The Tartan has blue, green, yellow and red." Jane stood up – proud enough – and winked at the old man. "Now if you'll excuse me... Whiskey sadly has the same effect on my bladder as beer."

Tuppence laughed loudly and waited for her to have left the room to focus on Maura who had not missed a bit of the whole conversation.

"I like her. She's bright and funny. A fast learner as well."

The physician nodded back at Tuppence. "She is really doing her best to fit in and be a nice guest." Which Jane succeeded perfectly. After horse riding, lunch had gone very smoothly. The Italian had even sneaked in the kitchen to help the cook – to the family's utter surprise – and was eager to learn more about Scotland and traditions. "She means a lot to me."

"That we can see." The old man grabbed the honey blonde's glass for a refill. A cosy afternoon by the fireplace of the library. Amy was spending some time outside with the neighbors and friends – Apolline had left to visit James' parents – and the other guests were enjoying a brief moment of rest.

"It is a bit complicated though." Maura offered a pale smile to Tuppence. She had always liked him. Even as a child when her relatives tended to look at her weirdly; as if she were not normal. He had been different, since the very beginning. The old man had always liked spending time with her and talk, converse about a thousand things.

Starting with medicine. His career as a surgeon in London had never really faded away completely.

"Of course, it is... As she doesn't have a clue about it."

Maura nearly choked on her drink at the comment. Tuppence had expressed himself calmly, with a self-confidence that didn't betray an ounce of hesitation. For long seconds, she remained quiet; not too sure of what she should say.

The old man smiled and grabbed her hand to hold it tight. "It is just fine. The others are too blind to see through it. You know that they aren't good observers. Besides, I have to say that you don't need to pretend much to make it work. You and Jane are close enough; just not as much as you'd like it."

Maura's smile vanished. Quickly. She trusted Tuppence. She knew that he wouldn't say anything but still... His words carried a truth that made her feel like crying.

"Hey. Is it Hugh MacLeod of MacLeod in the corridor? The old painting by the door..." Back into a pair of jeans – not that the beige pants she had worn to go horse riding were uncomfortable but still – Jane walked back into the library and motioned at the door.

Tuppence nodded enthusiastically as if the conversation he had just had with Maura hadn't existed. "You're good!" He turned to the honey blonde and winked. "Next thing we know, she'll be eagerly asking to learn the pipe music of our clan!"

Maura widened her eyes and looked at Jane. "I wouldn't bet on that..."

...

_**For the guest: if you have read all my stories then you must have noted that – at times (four stories or so) – Jane had girlfriends too (although I personally find it more plausible with Maura, as Sasha said it herself, and since in the show we only had a vague allusion to her romantic past with women, she can easily have hidden it from Jane for quite a lot of reasons; since it is not clear on screen, I have to make it clear myself explaining why they have kept it secret until now – here, the context is heavier, if her relatives assumed Jane was her girlfriend even before they made it to Scotland then it must mean Maura had same-sex dates in the past and her family is aware of it); I don't see silence over a detail from the past as a lie but as an omission, a voluntary (or not) one (they don't know everything about each other either); in the show we see Maura is able to turn her incapacity to lie into her favor at times (deleted scene at Merch), it is a rather interesting side of the character; as for who Annabelle is, I'd say jumping to conclusion a bit too quickly is not good, appearances can be tricky.**_


	6. How To Deal With A Couple Of Things

_**Author's note: thank you for all the reviews and being fine with the slow burn (I can't help it, it's always like that with me!); the chapters are around 1,650 words each, I can hardly write more on a daily basis!**_

**Chapter Six: How To Deal With A Couple Of Things**

"It's not swollen. I'll do just fine!" Jane smiled and swept away the whole thing with a gesture of the hand. There was no need to sound dramatic.

Complete fail: Maura still looked miserable, awfully miserable.

"I'm sure I'll be okay tomorrow. Look, the day's over, anyway. I know I was doing fantastic on the... Improvised dancefloor downstairs... But I think I'll stay here – on the bed – for the rest of the night. You can go back to the living-room to be with your family. The ankle's not sprained. I just twisted it a bit."

The honey blonde frowned and tapped her index finger on her lips - plunged in her thoughts - before a smile lit up her features. She stood up and rushed to the bathroom before coming back to the bed where Jane – with the help of Charles – had sat down after an unfortunate dance mishap.

"Arnica, an ointment." Maura sat back on the bed and focused back on her friend's injury. Physician mode: activated.

She would need it. If it weren't Dr. Isles but Maura touching Jane, the blonde would never manage to go through it. The contact would burn; insidiously. Then an invisible hand would tighten its grip on her heart and it would ache – silently – for the rest of the night.

She knew it. She had learned it from experience.

"Tell me if I hurt you. My patients are unfortunately too quiet to ever let me know if I am gentle enough." Timid laugh.

Jane nodded absentmindedly at the whisper and got tense as her friend approached a hand from her ankle. Smooth gesture. Delicate touch. She relaxed a bit.

"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you."

The remark took Maura completely aback. She looked up and blinked. "What do you mean?"

Jane had been perfect until now; a lot more than what she would have asked or been able to do herself if she had had to spend a week with her friend's family.

The brunette shrugged. "Well..." She motioned at her ankle. "That. Maybe I shouldn't have had that last whiskey. Tuppence is one cool cat but damn he wants me tipsy!" And quite the perfect Guinea pig to try anything Scottish.

Dances included.

"You slipped and fell. It could have happened to anyone, don't be silly." Now used to the warmth of the Italian's ankle, Maura's gesture gained confidence and before she realized it, her fingers started going up the calf. Subconsciously. Maybe led by the vapors of alcohol. After all, Jane was certainly not the only one who had had more than a drink.

Tuppence. At the mention of his name, Maura offered a pale smile at Jane and swallowed hard. She hadn't forgotten what the old man had told her earlier in the afternoon. The words were there – way too oppressive – in her mind.

He had no idea – nobody had the mere idea – of the amount of times the physician had tried to let it all come out. To be honest about her feelings. But before her constant failed attempts, she had ended up abandoning the idea to ever say anything at all. Perhaps time would do the trick and one day she would wake up without thinking about Jane.

Or at least her heart wouldn't react the way it did right now.

A knock on the door took her out of her wonders. She turned her head around. Apolline came in and trotted happily to the bed. Maura forced a smile. It wasn't that she didn't like her but her attitude had not always been the best. Yet just the typical one of a spoiled child. There was no real surprise. Her parents had had her quite late. She had been raised like a princess.

"Is everything alright? Do you need some ice? Mom told us about it..." A bit embarrassed, the future bride motioned at the door where James was standing by.

The man waved timidly.

"I'm doing fantastic, no worries. My personal nurse's taking great care of me." Jane laughed as if to sweep away the discomfort that seemed to float over the room. Small wonder why now that she knew it all – secretly enough though – about the love triangle reunited within three feet from each other.

Maura still had to talk to James. Unless the brunette had missed it, she hadn't seen her friend make a single attempt to approach him. _It's none of your business, Rizzoli. If Maura didn't tell you about it, then it means she has her reasons. Accept it. You're not ma'. _

Yet it was hard to look at her friend knowing she must have felt extremely disarmed.

"Oh, I am sure Maura is... Well... If everything is under control then we are going to leave you alone for the rest of the evening." Apolline nodded politely – turned around – and passed the door. With a rather suggestive wink, she laughed. "Don't do anything too wild, tonight!"

Door: closed.

Jane frowned. "Maura?" Uncomfortable, she slightly moved on the bed then locked her dark eyes – full of confusion – with the blonde's hazel ones. "Is it me or your cousins have a thing for... Sexual allusions? Do they expect me to jump on one of them?" She paused, bit her lips. "Please tell me we Americans don't have this reputation, here. I thought it was the French.

Maura stood up, Arnica ointment in hand. "Apolline is young and on the verge of getting married... She is just in the mood for... Mischievous comments. It isn't personal."

Without adding anything and in the hope to escape from the delicacy of the conversation, the medical examiner ran to the bathroom and took her time there; doing nothing but staring at her own reflection in the mirror.

She hated the image it sent back: the one of lies and guilt.

...

As announced, Jane woke up to a very fine ankle. Not even sore. The only issue turned out to be it was barely 6.30am and even if the family didn't sleep in much, it was still rather early.

"Early bird much? I'm knackered."

She had just reached the stables – in a lonely dawn walk – when Amy's voice on her left made her jump of surprise. She hadn't seen the woman approach.

Jane pouted. "Jet lag... And you?"

The woman took a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket – offered one to the Italian who shook her head to turn down the gesture – and lit one up before shrugging. She leaned against the wall of the stable, squinted her eyes at an invisible point somewhere in the distance.

"I haven't gone to bed yet. Well, technically I have but not to have a rest."

The wink that followed didn't leave much room to Jane's imagination. Taken aback by such remark, the brunette vaguely nodded and looked down at her feet. What was she supposed to say? 'Good for you, it's said to be healthy'?

"I didn't know you had a boyfriend. I thought you'd come here alone."

Amy nodded. "Oh, I did and don't have any... I went to visit an old friend, yesterday. He and I have had this thing going on and off for a while, now. He's my Scottish pass time. I live in London the rest of the year."

"Oh." The exclamation rose up in the air before Jane had a chance to repress it. Trying to ignore the way her cheeks had reached a rather deep shade of red, she cleared her voice and plunged her hands in the pockets of her jacket. "That's surely a good reason to come back here every now and then!"

This time, Amy burst out laughing. "And a nice way to put it." The woman marked a pause to study Jane from head to toe. A smirk played on her lips. "What about you?"

Jane blinked, confused. "What about me?"

"Do you play both ways? Sorry, I tend to be direct." Amy smiled, not looking apologetic at all. On the contrary. She mostly seemed curious – and eager – to get an answer from the Italian.

"Do you?" Jane's hoarse voice didn't resound loud but shaking. She hadn't expected that. Actually, it was the kind of question she tended to avoid at any cost. Anywhere. Too many people questioned her sexuality, starting with a lot of guys at the BPD.

Amy shrugged. "Oh no...Sadly I have this infamous attraction to bastards. You can't fight nature, I suppose. But if I did, it wouldn't be an issue at all. I might come from a wealthy family, they aren't _that_ conservative. You'd be surprised to see how open-minded they can be. Even aunt Deirdre."

Silence. An uncomfortable one. Retrospectively – now she thought about it – Jane hadn't assumed that Constance, for instance, was conservative. She was an artist. If only for that, she had to be one way or another open-minded.

"So... Do you play both ways? For some reason, I haven't been able to tell since I've met you. You don't really strike me as exclusive..."

Jane raised an eyebrow. She kind of liked Amy's slight provocation. It wasn't mean at all. Just very spontaneous; somewhat friendly. Deprived of any double thinking.

It must have been why she decided to give in. For the very first time. At 6.45 in the morning, lost in a damp fog; far from her references. The exotic context might have been helping.

"I do."

And there went two words that she had never dared to say to anybody.


	7. How To Overhear Conversations

_**Author's note: thank you for all the reviews; little secrets popping up everywhere should lead to a big mess.**_

**Chapter Seven: How To Overhear Conversations**

"Oh God... Composure, Maura. You are smiling so much that your jaw is that close to get blocked and us that close to drive you to the ER to de-block it."

Amy's remark made Apolline giggle. Maura – the first one concerned by it – shook her head quietly at her cousin before plunging her hands in the pockets of her woolen coat. Her cheeks burned. Was she blushing? As discreetly as possible, she cast a glance at her reflection in a window store but the pale light of the day didn't answer her wonder. It was too dark, too damp to see the slightest thing.

"Are you in love?"

A bit ahead on the road, Jane was enjoying the guys' company; her laugh rising in the air loudly as they passed a rugby ball to each other while walking back towards the mansion.

After breakfast, a part of the guests – the oldest ones – had left for the nearest town to check the last details for the wedding. The young ones had remained at home before deciding to go for a walk and a beer at the pub of the village.

In the afternoon, the future bride and groom would have a last dance rehearsal in a town nearby while Tuppence had decided to take Jane to a distillery.

Anything to make sure that she would go back to Boston being half-Scottish.

Apolline's question stirred up a smile on Maura's lips. She shrugged. Third day in Plockton and her shameful – yet involuntary – plan was perfectly working out. Nobody had confronted Jane to who she was supposed to be for the medical examiner. Against all expectations, it went alright.

"Oh come on! Who do you think you are kidding, Yankee? You should see the dumb smile you have when she appears in the room or you talk about her. As a matter of fact, I guess it is the first time we see you like that. The real question is: when are you two getting married?"

This time, Maura shook her head vehemently and took a deep breath. The cold air burnt her lungs; a bit like in Boston. She missed Massachusetts, her home. Her job. The peaceful life she was leading there, deprived of half-lies.

"It isn't on our agenda for the moment."

Apolline pouted and waved at James as the guy winked at her; rugby ball under the arm. "Too bad... It would have been a nice occasion to make the announcement to the family. After my ceremony, of course. Don't take it bad but Saturday is my day. I don't know... Make things clear on Sunday."

"We are not getting married, get over it." Maura shook her head at Apolline and smiled timidly as Jane stopped on the road to wait for her.

"Why do you never kiss? You do look in love but you are quite distant for a couple, darling. Should not you be dry humping on each other all the time? This is what love is about. Looking like fucking rabbits." Amy lit a cigarette – nonchalantly – and raised a suggestive eyebrow at her cousin.

Maura chuckled "Because we aren't a bunch of adolescents anymore... Now move on." She shook her head. "You are obsessed, girls."

Yet the moment she reached Jane, Maura passed an arm under her friend's to bring her closer. Poor attempt – if not just desperate – to contradict what Amy had just said.

A bit surprised by the gesture, Jane looked down at Maura and frowned. "Are you cold?" Scotland was definitely not the warmest destination she had ever been to but winters in Boston weren't really any warmer and Maura never complained about them.

On the contrary, she kept on saying how she loved them.

"A bit..."

Before the honey blonde's confession, Jane passed an arm around Maura's petite frame to drag her even closer to her own body and resumed her walking. Seeing that James had imitated the gesture with Apolline, Amy growled.

"Not a single soul to warm me up. How nice, really. And don't even try, Will. You are my brother... Bug off." She stuck her tongue to the man in question but stole his pint of beer from his hands. The one they had more or less involuntarily took away from the pub.

...

"Are you sure that you don't want me to come with you?" Maura made a face for the thousandth – if not more – time and bit her lower lip in hesitation. She didn't mind leaving Jane with Tuppence, she knew that it was safe. But then the Italian might have preferred to do something else than spend the whole afternoon with the old man.

"Maura... You're off for a shopping session with your aunt... Whatever, the one who never smiles... Don't take it bad but I definitely prefer to drink away the hours with a good glass of whiskey."

Jane smiled and adjusted her sweater before looking at her reflection in the mirror of their bedroom. The clothes were new but she still was able to recognize herself. As a matter of fact, she even appreciated the touch of cashemere wool on her skin. Not that she would openly say it but she did like them. Too classy for the BPD, though. Unless she wanted to face a couple of jokes from her colleagues.

"Amy's going with Apolline, right?" The brunette repressed a sigh. Her attempt to sound casual had miserably failed. Why should she be asking this in the first place? _Maybe because you're scared she starts talking too much about your little secrets. _

For some reason, Jane trusted Maura's cousin but still... She could easily let escape a word or two in the conversation. In front of everyone. If that ever happened, the detective would die at the scene. It was not something she wanted to share; certainly not with Maura.

Too complicated. Impossible.

No. What she had confessed to Amy in the early hours of the morning by the stables had to remain secret, untold. It was nobody's business whom she was sleeping with; whom she was attracted to.

Thankfully, Maura was too focused on reapplying makeup to notice the slightest thing. Bent over an old desk she had temporarily transformed in a L'Oréal lab, she carefully put on mascara.

"Yes... She lost a bet and thus has to go. Anyway, if you are back before everyone then you can just do whatever you want, here. Have a coffee... Pick up a novel in the library... Or go for a walk... Make sure to get ready on time for the formal dinner at 7pm sharp. Half of the village is invited. That's all I am asking you."

Jane nodded and grabbed her cell phone. Frost and Frankie had asked for pictures of the distillery as well as - of course - a few samples. The customs at the airport would have a blast with her suitcases.

"Okay. Last thing: are you sure I should let Tuppence drive? He seems rather lively but there's a lot of fog and all. I'm really not sure it's such a good idea."

Satisfied of her gloss touch, Maura straightened up and turned around to face her friend. For long – too long? - seconds, she pondered the suggestion; pouting.

"He is an excellent driver, as far as I know. Although if he is driving, make sure he doesn't drink too much. There is no need for us to pick him out of the waters of the lake again because he would have missed a curve due to an important dose of alcohol in his blood."

Silence. Jane widened her eyes in panic. _Again?_

"What?!" Strangled voice.

Maura grinned, satisfied of her effect. Patting her friend on the arm, she pushed her firmly towards the door and opened it.

"Enjoy!"

Light kiss on Jane's cheek. A stolen touch that would burn her lips – echoing the warmth spreading in her lower stomach – for the rest of the day. The Italian didn't protest. She never did.

Uncertain of the way she was supposed to take Maura's comment, Jane walked to the stairs and let her legs lead her to the lobby by the main door. The honey blonde wasn't particularly known for her jokes yet – obviously – it was exactly what the lake allusion had been.

Right?

_The hell... You're gonna die in Scotland, killed by a whiskey-lover grandpa. Way to go, Rizzoli. Just fantastic. The mystery of Amy's odd – British – expressions will remain unsolved for the rest of your life. Wait, no. That'd be for the rest of your death. Ugh. Whatever._

But in spite of what they had planned, the lobby was desperately empty. Tuppence was nowhere to be seen while he had told her that he would be waiting for her there only thirty minutes earlier. Jane frowned, not knowing what to do. Yelling out his name was definitely out of the question. This was not a habit in this family.

The whole floor was very quiet except for a reedy voice that seemed to come from the library. Slowly – and if only to kill time – the brunette took its direction.

Quietly.

She stopped by the door left open ajar and smiled as she finally recognized Tuppence's voice. The old man was smoking a pipe, talking absentmindedly to Amadeus who had settled on top of an old table full of books.

"You too are glad to have Maura back here, aren't you? Our little Maura... She hasn't changed much. Still bright, and beautiful. Yet completely blind before the obvious. Has she talked to you? Not that she needs to. You understand her even when she remains quiet, don't you?"

The singular monologue amused Jane and – instead of interrupting it already – she decided to lean against the wall to listen a bit more of it.

"Let's hope her little game remains unnoticed and she avoids bigger problems, though. I don't want her to get into any kind of trouble. It has worked so far. Nobody seems to have realized that – unlike what she has said before coming here – Jane isn't her girlfriend. Have you? Of course, you have. You have spent enough nights in their bedroom to see that from your own eyes."

Still leaned against the wall on the other side of the door, Jane froze; and swallowed hard.


	8. How To Confront Maura With The Truth

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews and suggestions (and glad to see that you enjoy the slow burn as well)**_

**Chapter Eight: How To Confront Maura With The Truth**

Sitting in an old armchair by the fireplace of the study, Jane leaned her head backwards – took a deep breath – and closed her eyes. She and Tuppence had come back from the distillery an hour or so earlier and now that she was alone – finally – everything got mixed to the point she felt dizzy.

During the visit and the whiskey tasting, she had tried to concentrate on the time being but it had been hard, to say the least. How could she after what she had overheard just before leaving?

Trying to sum up the situation in her head, Jane bit her lower lip and frowned; swallowed hard. The alcohol had wrapped her up in a rather pleasant embrace and she felt numb. Hitting reality once sober would be tough.

1. Maura had advanced the idea – to her whole family – that she was her girlfriend. Fine, why not. It wasn't that terrible although Jane had to admit that she would have preferred to be told about it first.

2. Maura's family seemed to have accepted it without any problem. At least now it explained a few things, starting with the innuendos Amy and Apolline had been using.

3. If they were fine with it and Maura had dared to come up with this scenario, it meant that it wasn't new nor shocking for her relatives. That troubled Jane. As far as she knew, her friend had only dated men. _The same could apply to you, Rizzoli. There are some things regarding your life that you have kept for yourself. She has simply done the same._

4. Who was Annabelle? An ex? Jane had surely not forgotten Maura's reaction when her aunt had asked about the woman during the dinner a couple of days earlier; nor Amy's reply to the whole thing.

5. In a word, Jane knew what Maura had hidden from herself but Maura didn't know that she knew. It could have seriously competed in The Most Soap Opera-ish Scenario of the year now the brunette thought about it.

But now the real question was: what was she supposed to do? _Confront her, of course. _

"Oh shit..." The words slid on her lips and hit the air heavily as she ran a hand through her hair and opened her eyes back. All of a sudden, the situation had become a lot more complicated.

The sound of a car made her turn her head around. She looked by the window and saw Maura by a Jaguar along with her aunt – _the one who never smiles –_ and Apolline. Amy was nonchalantly walking to the mansion. Jane stood up. It was now or never.

She stepped out of the study with the intention to be direct. Not in front of her friend's relatives but she still needed answers, if only to understand. She reached the lobby and stopped, ready to call Maura's name.

Then she changed her mind completely.

The medical examiner was walking up the few front steps towards the main door left opened by Amy, arms crossed on her chest. Desperately trying to make conversation with James. She looked tense, and hurt. Lonely.

Jane frowned and clenched her fists in anger, not against her friend but against the whole thing. No need to ask the honey blonde why she had come up with such romantic scenario. Her ex-boyfriend was getting married to her cousin and she was single. What kind of woman wanted to show that to someone who had managed to go on and build a semblance of hopeful life after a breakup?

Seeing that people had noticed her presence and without thinking twice about it, Jane walked to her friend. She passed an arm around her waist and planted a kiss at the corner of her lips. A soft one.

Maura froze, taken aback by the gesture. She stopped right in her tracks.

Jane forced a casual smile. "How was your afternoon? Fine, I hope..." She couldn't confront Maura. She couldn't do that. The blonde was her friend and she was going through hell right now. Yet hard for the Italian to even let her understand that she knew it all about her lie.

No.

This time, Jane would have to prove that she actually owned some tact.

...

Maura smiled at her reflection in the mirror of the bathroom to give herself some courage. Actually, if she had listened to herself then she would have stayed there for the rest of her life in the hope to be forgotten by the rest of the planet.

Vain wish.

She turned the lights off and walked back into the bedroom where Amy – Jane – and Apolline had settled in to watch a movie. The dinner had gone smoothly, although it had sounded more like some sort of reception than anything else. A hundred people, Champagne. Hors d'oeuvre.

The typical socialite event.

Gathering at four on a bed at almost midnight – in pajamas and makeup-less – would have been the perfect way to end up the evening if it hadn't been for the closeness of the whole thing. Maura had no idea if it was the effect of the whiskey or something else but since Jane had come back from the distillery, the brunette had been rather touchy-feely.

_Shouldn't you be happy, Isles? This is perfect for your little scenario. She is playing the girlfriend without even knowing about it._

"Hurry up, Spooky Mo'. You are going to miss the beginning." Apolline tapped the bed next to her before adjusting back her glasses, focused as she was on the television.

Maura obliged and sat by Jane's side. The rest of the bed was already taken, anyway. Trying to relax she ran her tongue over her lips and frowned.

"What are we watching?"

Amy rolled her eyes and yawned, texting someone on her cell phone. "Guess... _Four Weddings And A Funeral_... Because obviously, we aren't talking about weddings enough this week. By the way, it seems like your mother arrives on Friday. She is in Brasil, isn't she?"

The honey blonde nodded evasively and was settling against the pillows when she felt Jane's knee brush her. The touch turned out to be light, almost imperceptible. Contrasting sharply with the way the brunette turned around and literally cuddled against her.

Just like that, without any warning. Not asking permission to do so as she usually did. Although in public, it would have probably sounded odd now that Maura thought about it.

Pretending to not be troubled by the gesture, the scientist focused on the television and let the movie take her far from the place she was in. Tough mission. All of a sudden, she felt a finger brush almost casually her knee. Drawing invisible patterns on it. She swallowed hard, looked down at it.

She closed her eyes.

What was Jane doing? But as she cast a brief glance at her friend, Maura had to come to the rather disturbing conclusion that it must have been a subconscious gesture. The detective was focused on the British comedy, laughing along with Amy and Apolline.

Confused, Maura tried to do the same but she was too lost to properly follow the movie. Jane wasn't a touchy-feely person, not really eager to show public display of affection. Even with her dates, she hadn't acted like that and if – at times – she ended up in Maura's arms – it was in the darkness of an untold night. Just to fall asleep peacefully and forget a couple of things.

_It must be the whiskey._

"Say what you want but the final declaration of love in the rain is the most romantic scene ever. If only James had come up with that..."

Amy raised a confused eyebrow and turned her head around to stare at Apolline. "Charles basically asks Carrie to not marry him. You are going to get married. How can you regret to not have gone through this?" Perplexed, the woman lit a cigarette and shook her head. "Personally, I am more charmed by the whole tirade about latex. What Scarlett says is very true."

"Oh God... Would you like to get married, Jane?" Apolline turned around to look at the Italian. The question had been asked genuinely. Nicely enough.

Yet it took the detective completely aback. She straightened up right away and took her distance – a bit too much, perhaps – from Maura.

She shrugged. "I don't know... Why not, I guess. Although I've never dreamed of the whole thing... You know, the dress and all. But something more relaxed, why not. I mean, who knows. There's a nice symbol in the whole thing."

_Stop blushing, Rizzoli. This is getting ridiculous. And be positive about weddings, dammit. Apolline is getting married within four days. Sound enthusiastic._

Too late. Her obvious discomfort made Apolline giggle. Amy frowned at her, confused by the rather unexpected reaction.

"You have seen a ghost, Jane? You look pale."

The brunette forced a laugh – a rather flat one, if she had to be honest – and shook her head before settling back in Maura's arms. She needed her warmth, all of a sudden. More than anything else.

"Nah I'm just... Not the biggest wedding specialist around."

Apolline winked. "That's what wedding planners are for, dear."

"Who needs a wedding planner when you have Maura, here. She would be able to organize a royal wedding if she had to. And she would do it better than these idiots at Buckingham." Amy chuckled. "Even as a child, she used to organize our fake tea parties."

Amused, Jane turned her head and looked at Maura. For some reason, this wasn't much of a surprise.


	9. How To Face An Increasing Confusion

_**Author's notes: thank you for all the reviews; I will come back on Annabelle, of course, but not yet.**_

**Chapter Nine: How To Face An Increasing Confusion**

The first thing Maura noticed while waking up turned out to be the warmth of Jane's body against hers. Subconsciously – during their sleep – both women had ended up in each other's arms; huddled up as if to fight the cold of the winter.

For long seconds, the honey blonde didn't move and focused on her friend's regular breathing. Jane was still sleeping in spite of the pale light of the day piercing now through the large windows of the room. Maura cast a glance at the fireplace: the wood fire had come to an end. Small wonder why it was so cold.

She was about to get up when her fingers slid on Jane's shirt to brush an inch of skin; a hot one. Her lower stomach. The contact made Maura freeze immediately. She swallowed hard, closed her eyes.

She might have grown closer to Jane through the past few years to the point of sharing her bed more times than she could remember, she had never happened to brush such intimate part of the brunette's body. The contact ached, burnt. But instead of taking her distance as she should have, Maura did not mind much for once about seemliness.

Carried by the urge of her quiet – bitter – desires, she let her fingers pass under the old t-shirt, slide on the warm skin there. Jane's stomach, perfectly flat.

She closed her eyes, abandoning herself to the prohibited caress; a smile growing on her lips as her fingertips seemed to wander up Jane's stomach. She could feel the Italian's breath on her neck, such dizzying waves wrapping her up in a state of nearly hypnosis. She passed the ribs, brushed the base of the breasts she had stared at more than once.

Something made her open her eyes back. An odd courage of some sort, the strong desire to see Jane as her hand had ventured there. Very slowly, Maura's gaze went further up her friend's body only to stop as they found themselves lost in the brunette's dark eyes.

Jane wasn't sleeping anymore.

Yet she hadn't moved either, hadn't protested before the intimate touch. Maura frowned, uncertain of the detective's behavior. But after staring at her for long seconds, something pushed her to lean a bit over. Towards Jane's lips. Both women had never been so close, on the verge of sealing something – a delicate pact – that would change to their existences.

Maura closed her eyes in an echo of Jane's own movement and was about to make the last burning inch of air disappear between their respective mouths when the door flew open and Amy came in.

"It's snowing! Come on, get up!"

End of whatever had almost happened. The blurry parenthesis vanished in the air, taken away by a thousand things. By life.

Yes. Life had just put an end to it.

...

"Hey, Maura!"

The medical examiner turned around just on time to receive a snow ball right in her face. Quite a bit taken aback by the sudden contact, she made a step backwards – lost her balance – and fell onto the ground. Jane burst out laughing.

Leaned against a tree, Amy rolled her eyes and lit a cigarette. "A bunch of kids..."

"Why you can speak. Who woke us up – literally dragging us out of bed – to come here... Outside... And play in the snow?" Maura shook her head at her cousin and adjusted her scarf.

The park had turned white during the night, a thick layer of snow covering the grass. It gave a singular vibe to the place, almost magical. Coming straight from a fairytale.

"Ten more seconds in and I was walking in on you going at it like a rabbit, you mean!"

Amy's remark made her blush. She cast a very furtive glance at Jane who – thankfully – had turned around to fight with the guys. She wasn't about to forget what had almost happened and already had a hard time thinking about the moment she would find herself alone with Jane and they would have to talk about it. Or pretend that it hadn't happened which was worse now that she thought about it.

They would both feel uncomfortable. Because of her being unable to control her feelings.

"I am so glad to not stay in the room next yours. I am sure that you are quite vocal, Yankee. I prefer not to know what you two are going to do after tonight's party." Amy winked and began to walk to the porch of the mansion. "Bridal shower... No stripteasers but enough alcohol and dancing to get you in the mood, that I am sure!"

"And who is your future prey?" Maura smirked. Too uncomfortable for another allusion to Jane and her, she crossed her arms on her chest and followed her cousin inside.

Amy grinned. "The bartender."

Maura laughed – shook her head – and walked the stairs up to her bedroom. She stopped by one of the windows and looked down. Jane was still playing outside.

_Why did you do that, Isles? Have you lost your mind? Why did you caress her? Why did you almost kiss her? _The questions kept on haunting her mind. She bit her lower lip, sighed. A shower. Turning on her heels, she headed to the bathroom and pushed the door slightly.

This was exactly what she needed. A shower. A very hot one. The steam would sweep away all the feelings that tightened an invisible grip on her throat since the bed scene. She would forget it. Jane as well. She knew her. The brunette didn't feel comfortable with this kind of things so she would be relieved to see that Maura would pretend it had never been.

And who cared if it was just another lie in an already complicated story?

The scientist let her clothes slide along her skin before them hitting the hardwood floor in a quiet sigh as she turned the shower on.

The truth was that she blamed Jane. Somehow. Her attitude the day before had been confusing. Way too confusing. She had never been like that, before. Not even in stressful situations. Gentle. Soft. A bit possessive. Maura stepped in the shower and closed her eyes.

_You are having hallucinations. Stop this._

"Maura?"

The voice made her jump. She hadn't heard anyone step into the bedroom. Suddenly feeling rather vulnerable, she huddled in a corner of the shower and took a deep breath.

"Yes?"

This time, she heard a few steps getting closer to the door she had left open ajar. She subconsciously held her breath. If Jane felt uncomfortable then she surely didn't show it or else she would have not called her name nor been bold enough to approach while she was standing naked a few feet away.

"Do you mind if I put your shawl on? My cashmere sweater is damp because of the snow and I'm a bit cold..."

Maura counted until three before replying. "No... Feel free."

"Perfect!" Smiling to nobody in particular as the blonde couldn't see her, Jane turned around before grabbing the piece of clothing and rushing out of the bedroom.

There were pancakes for breakfast. No way she would miss this.

And one excellent reason to avoid the discomfort she would feel if she had to find herself alone in a room with Maura. What had happened earlier in the morning, exactly? She had awoken to the touch of her friend on her stomach going up her breasts. And then the kiss, the ghost of it.

What would have happened if Amy hadn't bursted in?

"Good morning, Jane."

The brunette politely nodded at the old woman. "Deirdre..." She was finally getting familiar with all the relatives. It had taken her a while to memorise their names and overcome the timidity of the first days but there she was, now. As if she had known them since forever.

"Where is your dear?"

Amused smile. It took Jane aback and made her jealous. She couldn't imagine her aunts react that way if they ever learned that she dated women. Maura was lucky to have an open-minded family.

"She is having a shower upstairs."

Deirdre nodded. "Fine, then follow me."

Not really having a choice – slightly scared – and gutted to miss the pancakes that James and Will would probably gulp down before she had a chance to see them, Jane obliged and followed the old lady into a small study.

"This is for you."

Direct. Just like Amy and Apolline. It must have been a family thing. But as she looked down at the object Deirdre was holding, Jane gasped; speechless.

"This ivory cameo has been in the family for three generations, now. Maura should have got it but it turned out that her own mother offered her one for her thirtieth birthday... I have observed you these past few days, as well as our dear Maura... And even if you aren't married, I know that if I give it to you then it will stay in the family. Maura loves you and your own feelings are obvious. I am glad that she found you." Deirdre grabbed Jane's hand and put the jewel in it. "Take great care of it. Welcome into our family."

The brunette frowned. The woman had completely taken her aback. Yet instead of turning down the present or advance a whole series of arguments to do so, she found herself heading into another direction. One she barely controlled.

"You are fine with this? With... Me and Maura, I mean?"

Deirdre shrugged nonchalantly. "As long as you two are happy, I don't see why I shouldn't be. You love her, don't you?"

The words stayed trapped in Jane's throat, forming a painful lump as tears burnt her eyes. Her lips trembled in an echo of her sudden fast heartbeats. Unable to speak - lost before a truth she had desperately tried to push away and forget - she looked down almost shamefully and nodded before her whisper hit the air with all the strength of untold feelings.

"I do."


	10. How To Fight Against Feelings

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews, I'm glad to see you're liking this story after the long Punta Cana series.**_

**Chapter Ten: How To Fight Against Feelings**

_It's the story of a girl who likes girls. And boys. It has always been this way and she doesn't see why it should change. She hasn't told it to anyone. Too many remarks already, something that may make her feel uncomfortable. And not a single glorious relationship to eventually break the news._

_One day she meets this girl, they become friends and before she has a chance to realize what is going on... She is in love with her. The feelings are there, she knows it. It's clear. But there's no reason for her to say it because it's vain. The other girl isn't into her. _

_For years she thinks that her friend only likes boys. She speaks about them, dates them. Then one day it turns out that reality might be slightly different. _

_But it doesn't change anything for the other girl because she lacks courage to make a step. Anyway, she knows that her friend only likes her. She's not in love. Just confused right now. _

_So why even trying if it's to ruin what they already have? See?_

Sitting on a stool at the bar, Jane bit her thumb and looked at Maura. The honey blonde was dancing with Apolline; a Martini in hand. She looked happy.

_You're a coward, Rizzoli. A freaking coward. _

She had hidden the cameo from Maura. Too complicated. What would she have said? How would she have explained Deirdre's gesture otherwise? She had discreetly put it in her suitcase and tried more or less successfully to let the day carry her away until the bridal shower.

A pub – music – and drinks.

Obviously, it wasn't tonight that Jane would experiment a drastic cultural contrast. Scottish bridal showers looked exactly like American ones.

Sighing heavily, she turned around again and raised a hand to catch the bartender's attention.

Rather hopeless action.

Amy was in full seduction mode with the poor guy who had lost it to her lowcut. A very unfair battle. Maura's cousin surely had appealing curves, Jane had to recognize it.

_If the drink doesn't come to you... _The brunette pushed on her hands – sitting up – and leaned over the bar to grab a bottle of Vodka that had been abandoned nearby. She was about to settle back on her seat to pour herself a new drink when a sudden – full - contact with her buttocks made her freeze.

"Hey..."

Maura's whisper slid up to her ear; her hot breath sending a shiver down her spine right away. Jane swallowed hard – let go of the bottle – and turned around if only to get her friend's hands off from such intimate part of her body. Needless to say the scientist wasn't very sober anymore.

The blonde ran her tongue over her lips and smiled mischievously. "Dance with me."

Jane shook her head. She wasn't in the mood. As a matter of fact, she shouldn't have come to the pub in the first place.

She needed quietness and felt like being alone. But before she had a chance to add something, the medical examiner's fingers were already going suggestively up her thighs. She tried to make a step backwards but bumped into the counter. Great. Maura had literally pinned her and was now approaching; making her way between her legs like a spider walking to a prey.

"I'm not... No." Uncomfortable, the Italian grabbed her friend's hands – took them off her waist – as she felt Amy's odd gaze on her. "I don't feel like dancing, Maur'."

The honey blonde pouted, shrugged. "Then maybe we can find another kind of activity you would like to take part in...?"

_What on Earth, Rizzoli? _

Jane giggled at the comment, out of nervousness. It was the first time she saw Maura intoxicated and – for some reason – she hadn't assumed that her friend could turn out to be so seductive after too many drinks.

The timing could have hardly been worse, though. It was pure torture. The kind that made Jane's heart ache to the point she felt like disappearing in an ocean of tears because of so many untold feelings.

...

"Will you... Be quiet!" Holding firmly a very tipsy Maura, Jane opened the door of their bedroom and let her friend sit on the edge of the bed before leaning herself against the wall to catch back her breath.

It had taken her forever to get the scientist up to the right floor. Maura was unable to make a step without losing her balance and giggling hysterically like a schook girl. How many drinks had she had, exactly? And why? She never gave into binge drinking like that.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait! What are you doing?" Not a second to have a rest. Jane rushed to the bed just on time to catch back her friend who seemed to have given an attempt to an escape by crawling on the floor.

As expected, Maura giggled and clutched to the brunette's arms to stand back up. "I was going for... You!" Her index finger crashed on Jane's chest as she slurred the last word.

The Italian got tense, swallowed hard. She had spent the evening pushing Maura away. Thankfully, nobody seemed to have noticed anything. Apart from Amy, for a couple of seconds maybe. But the woman had then simply assumed that she wasn't in the mood.

Which wasn't far from the truth.

Jane grabbed Maura's wrists to make her stop caressing her hips suggestively. "I think you should go to bed, now."

"Oh yeah we should... You think I did... didn't see your little game?" The blonde suddenly turned serious – or at least as much as her intoxication allowed her to – and she squinted her eyes at her friend. "I know what you're doing, Jane. I'm not... I'm not st-... Stupid!"

"No, indeed. You're drunk."

Jane's reply got welcome by a chuckle. "And so what?"

With an unexpected fluidity, Maura turned around and walked to the four-poster bed. Someone had lit up the fireplace; probably Charles. The room was warm in spite of the cold outside. Without saying the mere word, the scientist took off her stilettos losing thus six inches within a second. Jane approached and put a protective hand on her hip just to make sure that the sudden difference would not make Maura lose her balance.

"Do you want a glass of water?"

The honey blonde shook her head – looked up – and turned around to face her friend. The pale light of the moon pierced through the window, sliding on the hardwood floor; leaving rays of silver on an expensive carpet which colors had faded away with the passing of time. The house was quiet.

Too quiet.

"No." Maura's whisper echoed the imperceptible touch of her fingers along Jane's arms. The ghost of a caress as she let them travel up hesitantly.

The detective didn't move. Clutched desperately to her friend's eyes, she suddenly felt tired. Tired of pretending, tired of pushing Maura away over and over. Tired of everything.

She didn't react when the blonde passed her arms around her neck to drag her closer, didn't complain a second when she felt her friend's breath getting dangerously closer to her mouth for what seemed to be the prelude to an inevitable kiss, now.

She was losing the battle, losing the fight over her own feelings.

It turned out to be tentative, almost chaste; contrasting sharply with the strong desires that had just started rushing to her heart. The explosion of warm feelings in her lower stomach. Maura's lips on hers in an echo of the fragility of their relation. Until the blonde deepened the kiss and let her hands slide down to Jane's waist with authority.

Succumbing to the embrace, the brunette gasped in Maura's mouth before pushing her towards the bed. She unzipped her dress, smiled at the moan of pleasure her gesture brought to her friend. Her hands went up these curves she had fantasized about shamefully enough. The thighs, the hips. Her breasts.

A frenzy of feelings betrayed by feverish caresses.

And then it hit her.

"No!" The murmur of her scream put an abrupt end to the whole thing. She made a step backwards, just to be sure that Maura wouldn't try to grab her back. "No..." This time, her voice sounded more like a plea; a bitter, desperate one.

The medical examiner frowned. She seemed to be completely taken aback. "You don't want me?"

Jane swallowed hard and looked aside; too coward to lock her eyes into hurt hazel ones. "More than you can imagine." She shook her head, took a deep breath. Her voice betraying the inner battle of her feelings. "But not like that. I don't want it to turn into a blurry uncertainty once you wake up in the morning."

Hardest decision she had taken in her whole life. The wisest one as well, probably.

"Now go to bed. I'll bring you a glass of water."

Without waiting for any complain, she walked to the bathroom looking more for an escape than anything else. She took her time, there; tried to calm down her heartbeats, the strong desire to go back to Maura's lips, sweep away whatever her conscience might have been saying.

After long minutes of indecision, she timidly walked back to the bed - in the dark - and looked down. She smiled. Maura had slipped under the blanket and closed her eyes. She was sleeping now.


	11. How To Simply Go On

_**Author's note: thank you very much for your enthusiastic reviews and... Your patience!**_

**Chapter Eleven: How To Simply Go On**

The bright light of a sunny day woke her up too early, too abruptly. Moaning away her pain and a couple of sudden regrets, Maura rolled on her back and let her hand wander on the bedside table.

"Shit!"

The glass of water landed loudly on the floor yet not breaking into pieces. She heard it roll away as she kept on looking blindly for her sunglasses. Once her Chanel on, she decided to open her eyes a bit. Very slowly. Why did it have to be sunny like that? They were in Scotland, dammit. Right in the middle of winter. It should have been gray and snowing.

Somehow, she managed to get up – grab a shawl – and exit the door to go downstairs in the kitchen. The comforting smell of coffee and toasts welcomed her, as well as Jane who was sitting at the table on her own; sipping on a freshly squeezed orange juice.

The detective looked up from the newspapers she was reading and raised an eyebrow; not daring to say a word.

"Ugh..." Maura frowned. This was not what she had meant to say. Her 'hello' had got lost along as a tone of voice she didn't recognize as hers had pierced the silence of the room.

Jane smirked timidly. "Hangover much?" Without adding anything, she grabbed the coffee pot and poured some in a large mug before passing the drink to her friend.

Maura accepted it in silence and grabbed a straw out of a pack left opened on the table. She plunged it in the mug and began to sip her coffee; her hands holding her face, visibly in pain in spite of these large sunglasses that reminded Jane of Audrey Hepburn in _Breakfast at Tiffany's_.

The scientist finally decided to break the silence. Shaking her head, she looked around at the empty room. Where were the others? It wasn't that late.

"I don't even remember how I came back here last night."

An imperceptible flinch on Jane's lips summed up in silence the effect of such expected remark. She had hoped – ridiculously enough – that Maura remembered everything even if somehow, it was better to see that her conscious had drawn a line under what had happened in the bedroom.

Yet it hurt. It really did.

"You leaned on me. Good thing you don't weigh much..."

The statement caused a moan of despair from Maura who buried her face into her hands and shook her head.

"I am so sorry..."

She bit her lower lip, full of remorse; for a thousand reasons. _It is not a brave way to face things that to pretend you have forgotten them, Isles. Yet it comes in handy, this time. _Feeling hives invading her, the honey blonde stood up and – mug in hand – walked to the old window that overlooked the park of the mansion.

She turned her back at Jane in a self-protective attempt. At least this way, her friend wouldn't see an inch of her face distorted by silent tears.

"Hello, Yankees."

Fresh as a daisy, Amy walked into the kitchen and went to pour herself a mug of tea; completely unaware of the bitter atmosphere floating around. She looked happy, as usual. Cheerful. Sarcastic at her best. Jane smiled at her. She liked the woman, her carefree attitude reminded her of Constance. Her prestance as well.

"Any plan for the day? I am all about meeting Woody."

Calmed down, Maura turned around and squinted her eyes at her cousin.

"Who is this?"

Amy scoffed, offended by the question. "The bartender who kept on giving you a refill last night, of course!" A grin lit up her features. "He is twenty-six."

Maura rolled her eyes. "Oh God...". She pouted. "Almost too old for you, no? Mrs Robinson...!"

Amy chuckled, soon joined in the process by Jane.

The detective looked at Maura's cousin. "How old are you?"

"Thirty-nine..." Amy cleared her voice. "And twenty-four months."

...

The wind passing through her hair, she sped up and took a deep breath. The gesture burnt her lungs, made her feel alive. Just what she needed. Soon, the lake appeared on her right. She cast a glance at Jane in her back. The brunette was following on her own bicycle, smiling brightly at the lightness – even if ephemeral – that the ride was bringing her.

They reached the end of the path that led to the lake and stopped there.

_And now? _Maura swallowed hard. The morning had flown away in a perfect game of pretending it was all okay but now that she had decided to take Jane to the lake, she was slowly realizing that a sudden intimacy was about to weigh on the next hours. At least at Laurence's house, it was easy to get busy far from each other.

It wasn't the case, here.

"Are you sure we can leave the bikes, here?"

Maura nodded and started walking towards the lake, hands in the pockets of her woolen coat. Jane followed her looking all around. The place had been deserted in spite of the bright sun that seemed to slide on the peaceful, icy waters.

"It's beautiful..."

The blonde smiled at the comment and stopped by a rock. She sat down there to admire the unique landscape. The hills – in the distance – seemed to bring protection to the lake in a quiet way. As if they had wanted to preserve it from the abruptness of civilization and the passing of time that had weighed on Plockton's houses.

_There are many things that I would like to tell you... _"Thank you." Maura's voice resounded low yet sincere, incredibly sincere. She looked down at her feet to avoid Jane's gaze on her. "Thank you for being here, for being here for me."

Sitting next to her friend, the Italian looked straight in front of her not knowing what to say. A rather shy smile played on her lips as she shrugged.

Since Maura's confession in the kitchen earlier in the morning, something had broken inside of her. Something she couldn't name nor describe but it hurt.

A lot.

To the point she had remained quiet, too afraid that – if she dared to speak – uncontrollable tears would replace the mere word that would go and brush her lips.

"I held my promise."

This time, Maura's comment made her react. Confused, she turned her head around and stared at her friend. "What?"

The scientist smiled. Peacefully. "I had promised you to keep you away from bagpipes. I did." _Who do you think you are fooling, Isles? _Jane's light laugh warmed up her heart. Why had she kissed her? Why had she done that? She still had everything in mind; all the details. Why had she kept on provocating her? Why? Why did she have to ruin it all, all the time?

Disarmed and tired, she closed her eyes very tightly but the trick didn't work out this time and the tears – heavy, bitter – rolled down her cheeks in a burning silence.

Jane's smile disappeared, replaced by a sudden panic.

"Are you okay?" Ridiculous question. Maura was crying. This was hardly the sign of happiness, not when a face looked distorted by pain.

The medical examiner shook her head, tried to repress a sob. In vain. The tears wouldn't stop, soon joined by an uncontrollable shaking. Worried, Jane turned around properly and cupped her friend's face to force her to look up.

"What's going on, Maur'? What's happening? Are you in pain?"

The truth was that she didn't know herself. It was just too much. Too much pretending and too many lies. The pressure had acumulated and she couldn't go on anymore, now.

On the verge of a strong – incomprehensible – panic attack, Maura shrugged and bit her lips.

"I am so sorry..."

Jane blinked. This time, the honey blonde had lost her. Completely. If she had assumed that the day would be odd and tough, she hadn't thought that it would go _that_ far in confusion. Why was Maura crying hysterically?

"I don't get it. Maur'... Please, say something. Anything!" Distressed, Jane looked around for help – any kind of help – but she only came to face a lonely place; their bicycles abandoned a bit further down by the main path. If Maura passed out, she would have to deal with it all by herself.

Damn. She hadn't even taken her cell phone.

"Maur'..."

The honey blonde straightened up – locked her eyes into Jane's – and swallowed hard. "Forgive me. Please forgive me for what I am about to do."

Not understanding the slightest thing, Jane blinked yet didn't move as she felt Maura's hand slide on her nape. Her fingers were cold. The touch sent a shiver down her spine.

She repressed the urge – a strong one – to take her distance with her friend for their sudden closeness bringing back things she didn't want to remember, not even once.

"Please accept my apologies..."

Maura's murmur died in the air as she leaned over, reducing to a mere nothing the distance between her lips and Jane's. Her eyes went down to the brunette's mouth. She looked at it, frowned. It took a second for her to know that what she was about to do would carry the weight of dreadful – probably fatal – consequences.

In a last whisper of apologies, Maura closed the bare distance and captured Jane's lips in a desperate kiss. A bitter one. Burning, absorbing the salt of the tears that kept on rolling down her cheeks. And yet among all this pain – among these complicated feelings – she simply realized that this kiss was just the premises of the life she had always wanted.


	12. How To Square With Silence

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all your reviews,it is a pleasure to get them and reply to them.**_

**Chapter Twelve: How To Square With Silence**

"You aren't very focused, are you?" Tuppence's voice resounded low and calm in the study while an amused smile played on his lips.

Jane pouted, forced to recognize that the old man was right. "Not really..."

"How come?"

She didn't feel like talking, even less to someone she barely knew. The wonders that were weighing on her mind were nobody's but hers. The doubts as well. Frowning, she motioned at the chess board and feigned to concentrate on her next move. Who was she fooling, though?

They had kissed. No. As a matter of fact, Maura had kissed her. The honey blonde had been the one who had made the first step towards something none of them could properly define. Sitting on these rocks by the lake, Jane had let her friend do and nothing else.

She had responded to the kiss - eagerly if she had to be honest about it - and thus had made things clear.

And then?

Well, nothing. Nothing special, actually. Maura had found peace in the crook of her neck – the heat of her arms – and they had remained quiet until it had been time to go back to the house.

Hand in hand, they had passed the door and before any of them had had a chance to realize the mere thing, Apolline had dragged her cousin to her bedroom for a hairdo approval; leaving Jane alone by the stairs, relieved to escape from something as frivolous as this.

She had found refuge in the study, by the fire place. Then Tuppence had showed up and out of pure politeness, Jane had accepted to play chess.

"Nothing important..."

False. What was going on could actually have an impact on the rest of her life. Yet why did it have to be so complicated, so uncertain? They had kissed but hadn't defined anything. Not clearly. Were they supposed to be a couple, now? And if so, what would happen once they would retreat back to their bedroom for the rest of the night?

Jane bit her lips. The whole situation was awkward. They needed to speak but she didn't dare to do it herself.

Why couldn't it happen just like in movies? Everything seemed so fluid on screen, so easy. None of the protagonists seemed to think over and over about their first time, about the way they had to act. Their gestures were natural - logical - when the mere gaze turned into a complicated game of what-ifs for Jane.

And being far from Boston didn't help, all of a sudden. She had lost her references.

"Everything is important in life. Every single detail. If you don't pay attention to them properly then you won't be happy."

Jane looked up from the chess board and locked her eyes with Tuppence's as the man's words stayed there, floating around. The clock struck eight.

...

Maura closed the door of the bedroom and turned around. She had dreaded this moment more than anything else. If they had kissed there – or even at her place in Beacon Hill – things wouldn't have been the same. They wouldn't have had time to think about it all over and over, to analyze all these details she didn't know what to do with. In the action, they would have probably made love. But here, they were facing a very different scenario.

Standing by a window – on the other side of the room – Jane wasn't really helping. What did she want? Move on as if nothing had happened earlier by the lake or – on the contrary – give a smooth continuation to the kiss they had shared?

"I really liked the soup. It was... It was good." The brunette made a face before her own words. An incredibly ridiculous attempt to break the ice imposed by the heavy silence.

Maura offered a timid nod and walked into the room.

"You might not say the same tomorrow, as much as Molly's haggis is excellent." She laughed, out of nervousness. Her stilettos landed loudly on the floor. Too loudly. She froze.

"Well... We'll see, then." Running a hand through her hair, Jane went to lean – casually – against the window but while doing so, she bumped her forehead against the thick frame. "Ouch!"

_Way to go, Rizzoli._

"Oh my God, are you alright?" Forgetting to her uncertainty, Maura rushed to her friend; worried. It was not the best moment for a late-night trip to the ER. "The same happened to me when I was six... I had stitches. Are you bleeding?"

Forcing Jane to take her hand off so she could see the damage, the medical examiner frowned and squinted her eyes to check out the injury. Thankfully, the skin was only slightly pink. Jane wouldn't even have a bruise. Nothing.

"I guess... I guess I'm fine. Just the typical clumsy Rizzoli thing. Nothing to worry about."

Maura smiled at the poor attempt from Jane to pass it all for a joke but nonetheless made her sit on the bed. Just in case. The bump had been rather loud, troubling the peaceful crackling of the wood in the fireplace. She sat by her side, not letting go of the Italian's hands.

"Do you want some ice? It is barely red, to be honest. Do you feel dizzy?"

The last question seemed to float in the air. Jane blinked, and nodded.

"Yes."

But it was not a dizziness caused by her clumsy gesture. No. It had more to do with their kiss by the lake and its reminiscence burning her lips; asking insidiously for more. And Maura's closeness.

Before it being too late – before her to start thinking about it properly – Jane bent over and captured the honey blonde's mouth for a repeat of the afternoon. With more eagerness, perhaps.

More certainty.

Now she knew what she was doing.

Carried by the same frenzy, she followed Maura further on the mattress and soon passed on top of her. Never letting go of her lips. How could she? It seemed like her breathing came within them, a powerful source of life emanating from the whole. Her leg slid between the blonde's, stirred up a gasp that got lost in her mouth.

Reluctantly and after long minutes of intense kissing, Jane abandoned Maura's lips but – still unable to break contact with her skin – she began to trace a path down her neck as her hands had somewhat passed underneath the scientist' top to caress for the first time a stomach she had lusted for a while.

Nothing seemed to matter anymore. Their wonders and doubts had disappeared as soon as they had made contact while their caresses – melting in quiet sighs – had taken them far from the time being.

Perhaps it had to be like that. Perhaps they needed it. Hard to say, hard to define properly. But for the moment, none of them felt like speaking; nourishing the secret hope that they wouldn't need it.

Clothes got discarded, soon replaced by the smoothness of bed sheet against hot – shivering – skin. Bodies intertwined, lips looking for an inch of flesh to capture and make its. Years of frustration led to this. Years of untold feelings.

Nails digging in a back – a hip – as desire seemed to build up from playful caresses.

They would make love, maybe twice. Without ever saying the mere word. Barely looking at each other as if the moment still belonged to one of their respective quiet fantasies; the ones they might have had at some point, on a lonely night after a couple of drinks when their loneliness had managed to win.

And then – tired but happy – they would fall asleep in each other's arms, letting the night take them far from whatever their future was holding. Far from the consequences of their acts, of this intimacy they had reached. They wouldn't be friends anymore. Lovers? Maybe.

The frame of their relation – as sweet as it could be – would be hard to define properly. But why thinking about this?There was a time for everything and – for once – this night would only be about satisfying all these feelings they didn't manage to put a name on for them usually belonging to hopeless dreams.

It was just the surge of something, an invisible force – desire – that they wouldn't have repressed but embraced. Echoing in their moans, their sighs. A smile of pleasure brought by a kiss, a hand on a thigh. The warmth of a body.

Was it a once in a lifetime thing? Only time would say. They weren't in Boston. They didn't have references in Scotland. The exotic surroundings might have helped and perhaps everything would crash down once their plane would land in Massachusetts. But intoxicated by the moment, none of them wanted to think about it. Out of cowardice, out of fear.

Because if there was something sure, it was that – in spite of their absence of words – both actually nourished the desire to make of this the frame of their respective existences.

The first day of the rest of their life. A delicate – strong yet fragile – brand new beginning. Just like in their dreams, the ones they kept for themselves; too afraid they would break into pieces if one of them dared to recognize they had been there since the day they had met.


	13. How To Adapt To A New Situation

_**Author's note: thank you very much for the reviews!**_

**Chapter Thirteen: How To Adapt To A New Situation**

"What on Earth..." Jane's voice resounded low, full of sleep. Wincing in pain, she rolled on her back and ran a hand through her hair.

Who was playing bagpipes at 6am? Yet the sound seemed to come from outside. Even worse. Who was playing bagpipes at 6am out in the cold?

Laurence, it had to be Laurence. His brother - Tuppence - had told her about it the day before when they had played chess. But by then, she had simply assumed that the old man was losing it a bit and nothing else. It turned out that such piece of information had been true. Was Laurence wearing a kilt, to complete the image? Ugh. Not the best thing to think about so early in the morning. Jane wrinkled her nose, moved slightly.

And then it hit her. She was naked – in bed – with Maura. Maura. In a quick motion, she turned her head around and opened an eye to look at the honey blonde. She wasn't sleeping anymore either.

_Oh perfect, Rizzoli. Really. You woke her up with your complains._

Which was not an issue in itself if it weren't for the context. They had made love the night before. A line had been crossed, bringing a new blurriness to their relation. Yet deep inside herself, Jane could only recognize that she didn't regret the slightest thing at all. On the contrary. Daring a timid smile – a tentative one – she pushed away a strand of blond hair from Maura's face; let her fingers slide on her friend's nape before resting them there. She swallowed hard.

A smile appeared on her lips, an uncontrollable one.

Maura echoed it and took a deep breath. "Hey..."

And now? Was she supposed to apologize or – on the contrary – lean over for a kiss? Maura's face was impassive, her tone of voice rather inviting though. Unless reality hadn't made it back yet to her brain and she was too sleepy to ever realize what was going on.

_Life is short. Too short for regrets. _Following her inner thoughts, Jane frowned and bent over only to see Maura slightly turn her head.

"I haven't brushed my teeth."

The brunette blinked, taken aback by such comment. This was a first, and yet so Maura-ish. Within a second, she burst out laughing and thus broke the uncertainty of the moment. The previous night had mostly been driven by the frenzy of untold – repressed – feelings. But this was gone, now. And they had to deal with the whole thing. They had to talk about it.

Two people could hardly remain in bed – silent – for the rest of their life, pretending that it was just how things were supposed to be.

Not really troubled by the whole thing, Jane planted a kiss on the scientist's nape; printing the frame of a smile in the process against the warm skin.

"I don't mind..."

Maura blushed, giggled lightly. She hadn't expected Jane to be so expressive, so sure of herself. She had had time to observe the Italian's behavior in relationships over the years and she had never got – at no moment – to see her like this. Jane had self-confidence when it came to her job but not at all when it came to her relationships. And yet...

Giving in, the honey blonde captured Jane's lips for a hungry kiss – a full one – and with the same logic as the night before, she slid a leg between the detective's before passing on top of her; letting their caresses take them back to the softness of their feelings.

They would have time to speak; their whole life actually.

...

As she finally stepped outside the bedroom around 10.30am, Maura knew that the smile playing on her lips wouldn't pass unnoticed. Yet she couldn't help it. She had never felt so light, so fine. And in love. A part of her had a hard time believing this was happening. All her fantasies – hopeless dreams – coming true; melting into something more concrete.

She was walking on a cloud, literally.

"I won't ask you what you've done to show up here so late..." Smoking a cigarette, Amy winked at her cousin as Maura walked into the kitchen.

"Excellent. Spare us whatever might have been going through your lovely head. How is Woody?"

Amy rolled her eyes and wrinkled her nose in defeat. "Married. Way too married." She shook her head and grabbed a toast to chew on it absentmindedly. "Maybe I should play for the other team."

Maura chuckled, cast a look at the door. What was Jane doing? To make sure that they would not spend the whole day in bed, she had – reluctantly enough, though – let her go for a shower all by herself. Yet the brunette still had to appear and Maura already missed her touch. Her presence. The taste of her lips. The warmth of her breath on her neck. Pretty much everything.

"Good morning."

James came in. Maura straightened up, smiled politely. She had avoided him until now. Out of an old despair.

As much as her feelings for him had completely faded away, she still felt vulnerable – and hurt – before what had happened. There was nothing pleasant in the fact of being cheated on with a cousin. Nothing at all. Even if he and Apolline were now getting married.

The past never disappeared completely, disappointment either.

"One of you would like to help me with the wood? Freshly chopped. About two tons. It has to go in the old room by Laurence's study. Catherine's workshop." The man winked, hoping his joke over the quantity would score a win with both women.

Catherine, the painter of the family. Laurence's wife had invaded a small room a bit apart from the rest of the mansion. A quiet, small place. With a large fireplace. Modern art. She and Constance loved talking about the latest exhibitions of their common friends in London.

"I will pass, dear. I have just had a manicure and I don't want to ruin it."

Typical Amy. Pursing her lips to repress a snarky remark, Maura raised an unconvinced eyebrow at her cousin before focusing back on James. She held back a sigh.

"I will come."

Anyway, Jane still had to appear.

They both walked in silence to the back of the house where a small door had been left open ajar and overlooked the park; the end of the cliff where the fog seemed very thick, this morning.

"Do you have gloves?"

James nodded and flashed a smile that sent Maura back to a bitter past. They had been happy, a long time ago but still. They had. She had to recognize it.

Without a word, she took the gloves he held out to her and put them on before going for a couple of logs then heading back into the mansion. Charles was too old for such task, now. It was very nice of James to have done it himself. She stepped into the workshop and looked around.

The lowest shelves on her right were already full. She had no choice but to use the small ladder to access one of the three upper shelves still available.

"Wait." James let go of the logs he was holding and ran to the ladder to stabilise it. He nodded, with his typical self-confidence.

Maura smiled, with her typical uncertainty. _Don't act as if you were five, Isles. This is ridiculous... You are a grown up woman, prove it to him. And now. _And in love, the happiest she had ever been.

She put a foot on the ladder – checked the balance of the old piece of furniture – and went up before discarding the logs somewhere on her left.

"Thank you..."

James' voice resounded loud and honest, breaking the uncomfortable silence that only a very bare and uninteresting discussion had troubled since she had arrived to Scotland. She froze and looked down the ladder. Needless to say that James wasn't talking about the logs but her presence here.

"Apolline is my cousin, it was the least I could do." Fair enough, and true. Even if it had taken her a while to actually RSVP. For a long moment, she had thought about turning down the invitation. She had absolutely no idea why she had changed her mind about it. A semblance of mischievousness, an ounce of pride.

"She appreciates your effort. We both do, actually."

Suddenly uncomfortable, Maura rushed to step down the ladder. She needed fresh air. And now. The room was too small, the atmosphere too oppressive. Besides, Jane had probably made it to the kitchen by now.

Too focused on escaping from the whole thing, she missed a step and slid; losing her grip on the ladder.

"Aaaah!"

She landed in James' arms who – under the sudden and unexpected weight – lost his balance only to fall on the floor; bringing Maura in the process. For long seconds, both remained still; and silent. A bit taken aback by the sudden noise they had made as well as the fall.

And then they burst out laughing, almost hysterically.

On top of him, Maura turned around and leaned up on her elbows to check James' face; if only to make sure he wasn't injured. She brushed his forehead, pushed away a strand of hair.

"Stop moving! Let me see if you haven't cut yourself open..."

She had just approached his face a few inches when a shadow caught her attention on her right, just by the door. She turned around. Jane was there, looking at them blankly. They stopped laughing as the brunette's gaze - hurt at its best - reached them and they realized the position they were in: lying on the floor, Maura on top of James - way too close to his lips.

The honey blonde swallowed hard, pushed away a latent wave of panic. "This isn't what you think..."

Silence. A painful one.

"Bullshit." Jane pursed her lips – turned around – and walked away without adding anything else; her icy tone of voice weighing suddenly a lot over the fragile lightness of the morning.


	14. How To Make Things Clear

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews and don't be worried about these two, I don't know how to write a sad ending; as for Jane overreacting... Nobody's perfect and has more or less fair reasons to react this way. **_

**Chapter Fourteen: How To Make Things Clear**

A bit sheepish, James helped Maura to stand up and offered her an apologetic smile. The man was blushing. He looked embarrassed by the sudden situation. Running a hand through his hair, he didn't remain close to the honey blonde as if too afraid of another misunderstanding.

He shook his head. "I am sorry... Listen, I will go talk to her and make things clear. You don't have to go through that, it is unfair."

On the verge of crying, Maura shook her head and adjusted her clothes. "Jane can be impulsive, this is just fine." She swallowed hard. "Impulsive and possessive."

But it was just a misunderstanding and nothing else. The timing had simply not been the best. Their position on the floor either.

She and Jane were just at the start of something big, something they hadn't taken the time to discuss. It brought up a lot of insecurities; a lot of uncertainties. They had left behind a strong friendship for something they didn't control at all. Something blurry. It was too fresh, as much as her gestures towards James had been genuine – completely deprived of any desire to do anything with him – to the point she had barely noticed the way she was lying on top of him.

Yet now that she thought about it, Maura found Jane's reaction exaggerated. If the Italian had come to such conclusion so easily then she didn't have a good image of her to say the least.

"Don't be worried. I am going to find her now. I am not really in the mood for some jealousy fit." A bit annoyed – already losing her patience – Maura smiled at James and exited the room.

But as she made it to the entrance, the honey blonde suddenly realized that the surface of Laurence's house wouldn't help. There were way too many places to go and hide; from the stables to the attic. She didn't even include the park itself. Lacking inspiration, Maura climbed the stairs to the third floor only to find an empty bedroom.

With meticulousness, she stepped into every single room of the second floor: in vain. Same downstairs. Apart from a couple of relatives here and there, the mansion was desperately quiet. Out of despair, Maura took a coat and stepped outside before heading towards the stables.

She spotted Jane there, caressing Arsinoe with care.

"I don't like it much when you run away from me..." Hands in her back – daring a smile – the scientist approached the brunette. Her appearant lightness contrasted sharply with her latent panic. She wasn't good at confrontation. Not good at all.

Especially with Jane. She cared too much about her.

The detective turned her head around and locked icy dark eyes into Maura's hesitant hazel gaze.

"I don't like it much when the person I've just slept with seems to have so much fun with her ex. You know, the ex you didn't tell me about. So much for making me pass for your freaking girlfriend. What the hell are you doing, Maura? Small wonder why you don't have news from Annabelle."

Jane would have punched Maura in the face that the shock wouldn't have been worse. Feeling her blood turn icy in her veins, the medical examiner swallowed hard and looked aside. Her lips trembled in silence. She clenched her fists.

Out of anger.

"Don't talk about things you don't know." Her cold tone took her aback. She couldn't help it. If the first part of Jane's comment had made a wave of shame float around – because of her lies – the allusion to a person she didn't want to mention had released an impressive amount of anger through her veins.

"Things?" Jane raised an eyebrow, surprised and sarcastic. "This is how you talk about your exes?"

Maura briefly closed her eyes – as if to restrain her surge of anger – before snapping back. "She is not my ex. I never slept with Annabelle! Never!" And there she was, yelling hysterically over these ghosts from the past she had hoped long gone and forgotten. "Annabelle was my friend and nothing else! Nothing!"

Taken aback by Maura's sudden explosion of anger, Jane remained quiet. She had never seen her like that. A fury. The honey blonde had turned into a fury; releasing an accumulation of despair that long years of silence had thickened to the point it now looked as dense as stormy clouds in a summer sky.

"Who told you about her? Who? Deirdre? Amy? Apolline? Who? We never slept together! She just liked me and nothing else. She was my friend... You have no idea how much it meant to me... She was my first and only friend. Then they all ruined it! All of them, insinuating things that weren't true at all. They made her leave. She left me because of them and their freaking gossip!" Breathing loud – too much in pain to cry – Maura bit her lips, lowered her voice. "They pushed me to come out... They pushed me to say it." She swallowed hard. "They pushed me to admit things I did not know how to deal with."

Closing her eyes before a reminiscence she wanted to forget, Maura shook her head. Nothing had ever happened with Annabelle but a strong friendship yet before her family's insinuations, she had succumbed to the pressure and admitted a bisexuality she hadn't known how to handle by then for it being new; and too blurry.

She had been forced into an unprepared coming out and had deeply suffered from it.

Jane straightened up and lifted up her chin defiantly; not wanting to recognize that she had jumped to conclusions regarding Annabelle a bit too easily.

Not that she was to blame. Maura's relatives – all of them – had let her understand that the honey blonde had certainly been very close to a woman the scientist had preferred to never mention. The silence had only encouraged the mystery.

But too proud to say anything, the Italian didn't give in. On the contrary. "And how could I know, with all the things you hid from me? Your ex, your family assuming I'm your girlfriend because... Because you didn't dare to tell them the truth. And why? If not to satisfy your ego? You lied to me, and used me. And now I find you fooling around with your ex while we just..." Jane bit her lips and swallowed hard. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her heartbeats. "Nobody knows that I... You might have made things clear for your family but mine doesn't know about me. Nor do my colleagues. So maybe it's easy and okay for you but it's not for me. There's a lot of things... Many things I have to deal with..."

Troubled – and guilty of her lies – Maura tilted her head on a side and squinted her eyes with great confusion. Jane was literally stuttering, now. She looked on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"Nobody knows I sleep with women. I never said it. Not even to you. And while I finally give in – thinking that in spite of the weight of irreversible decisions I take it's worth it all because it's you – I find you on top of your ex with your hand on his nape while his are on your hips. How am I supposed to take it?"

For long seconds, Maura remained quiet.

It might have sounded stupid but she hadn't assumed that the brunette lived this secret part of herself so badly. Not that she was very loud and open about it herself but she was fine with it. It didn't eat her out as it seemed to be doing for Jane. All of sudden, she realized how delicate the situation must have been for the detective if she hadn't come to terms with her sexuality.

As for the rest – making her pass for her girlfriend when she wasn't – she had no excuse for it. Not a single one. She had lied - somehow - and this wasn't excusable.

With a soft voice, Maura tried to justify the situation. "I fell down the ladder while taking wood inside... I fell down on James and we both landed on the floor. It goes as ridiculously as that." And then it hit her. "Who told you he was my ex?"

Jane shrugged. With her arms crossed on her chest, she had never looked so vulnerable, so unsure of herself.

"Who cares?"

Maura pursed her lips. They had lost themselves into a painful imbroglio; because of lies and untold things. But too stubborn to abdict, they both forced the way to burning – harsh – feelings.

"When? When did you learn that James and I had been in a relationship?"

Jane flinched. If Maura hadn't told her about him – nor about letting her family think that they were more than mere friends – she herself hadn't been honest right from the beginning for not having told her that she knew; that she knew who James was and why Maura had felt reassured stating she was not single anymore.

Nobody wanted to attend an ex's wedding while being single. She understood the lie but didn't excuse it yet had not done any better herself by not admitting what she knew and when.

They both had lacked sincerity. For way too long to not develop a bitterness that made the start of a new relationship unhealthy. What had happened to them? How could they have lost themselves into this? They had built a net of untold things and were now trapped in it. Trapped into their own lies. Cruel irony.

Jane ran her tongue over her lips and shook her head before looking down. "I fought against inner... Inner insecurities to open to you last night, Maura. And maybe – as you said – nothing was about to happen with James. Maybe I jumped to conclusions, but only because it's not easy for me. And because... You lied to me... You didn't tell me the truth about him and the reason of my presence here. So I don't know... I don't know anymore if I can trust you when you come up with such excuses." A bitter laugh hit the air as she shrugged. "I don't know... I'm sorry."

The brunette turned around and left, her whisper embracing Maura icily.

A bit shocked, the scientist walked back towards the house and stopped by the steps as she heard the tires of a car on the driveway. She watched how a taxi appeared through the fog and stopped a few feet away from her. The door of the backseat opened, Constance stepped out of it; all smiles.

"Bonjour..."

It might have been the sudden contact – the human touch – or just because it was her mother's arms that the gesture managed to bring a sudden warmth to her heart, contrasting sharply with the coldness of her body.

Unless she had simply lost any capacity to hold it together.

Whatever it turned out to be – as Constance hugged her tight – something broke into Maura and she burst into tears.


	15. How To Help Jane and Maura Go Through It

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all reactions, it was interesting how some feel for Maura and others for Jane. Personally, I'd say I can understand both; both have reasons to be angry and feel guilty. I guess if there was a lesson to get from this, it'd be that untold things are the worst.**_

**Chapter Fifteen: How To Help Jane And Maura Go Through It**

_It is the story of two women who – one day – realize that the relation that links them has little to do with friendship. If they wanted to be sincere then they would say that they have always known it but they can't do so, too afraid of these feelings they don't know what to do of. _

_They have kissed and even spent the night together. But deep inside, they weren't ready. Nobody is when a thousand untold things – indirect lies – weigh on a relationship._

_With silence comes the truth in its harshest way. Violent, brutal. And bare. They didn't escape from it. It hit them insidiously, without any warning whatsoever while the hesitant steps they were taking in their brand new relationship were leading them towards something uncertain._

_And now it hurts. Because of guilt, because of anger towards the other._

_None of them is wrong, none of them is right. They both have valid varguments and unfair ones. It is not more the fault of one than another. They are responsible, at their respective level. _

_From pain rises the brightest wisdom, the one we learn about – and brush – when our suffering lets its claws tighten its grips on our soul. It takes time, and a lot of talk. Many, many words. _

_A thousand sentences, a simple gaze._

_And the necessity to admit that honesty – as old as it is – always pays in the end. For all our actions even the smallest ones; these insignificant details. This is what life is about: growing from mistakes, our very own ones. _

_Then rise. In peace._

"You will get through this."

Constance's words resounded low, full of self-confidence and truth. Maura sighed and squinted her eyes at the flames that were now dancing in the fireplace. They had talked. She had told her every single thing she had kept for herself since the very beginning. The whole story. From the moment she had met Jane to their altercation by the stables earlier in the morning.

The artist had listened quietly, not moving an inch. And when it had been her turn to speak – to say what she thought about it – her voice had risen in the air through these five words only.

_You will get through this._

"But how? What am I supposed to do, now?" Maura made a face at her tone of voice. She hated it when she was whining.

"Be honest with her. Open up about your feelings. Obviously, she has some for you so there is not a single thing to worry about. Stop hiding yourself behind untold things. These only bring the worst... And misunderstandings. She needs to be reassured, besides. She needs to know what you told me."

A warm smile appeared on Constance's lips as she bent over to run a soothing hand through Maura's hair. She planted a kiss on her head. The gesture took the honey blonde aback but instead of saying anything, she simply welcomed it to fully enjoy it.

"Jane must feel lonely, right now. She has nobody to speak to, nowhere to seek for advices as I am doing with you. She is far from Boston, from her relatives and friends. From her references. It has to be even tougher seeing she has not yet come to terms with her inner self... So... For once, put aside your ego and go talk to her... If you really love her. Silence will only make it worse, dear."

Remorseful – and hurt – Maura exited her parents' bedroom and went to the third floor to change. A formal lunch would be served soon, now. She had to change and make herself presentable. She hadn't even had time to take a shower yet.

Uncertain of whether Jane would be there, she hesitantly stepped into their bedroom but sighed of relief as she realized it was empty. She would talk to the Italian but not between a shower and a lunch. It was not appropriate. They needed to sit down and take their time to let honesty embrace them as it should. Rushing into the whole thing would only make it worse. She knew it.

With a lot of apprehension and once ready, she went down to the main living-room. It was full and noisy, contrasting sharply with the cold quietness of her bedroom upstairs. Most of her relatives as well as a few very close friends of Apolline and James were there; a glass of champagne in hand.

But before talking to anyone, Maura scanned the room. Where was Jane?

She spotted her in a corner, in full talk with Amy. Wearing a deep red – mid-calf length dress – the brunette looked serene, almost joyful. So far from the state she had been in a few hours earlier.

She had always been good at pretending. Too good for her own sake. It had taken Maura a while to see through this and approach – little by little – the heart of her vulnerabilities.

"Here you are! I was _that_ close to call the police. Where have you been, Yankee?" With her typical nonchalance, Amy literally yelled at the medical examiner as she noticed her by the door. Within a few steps, the woman had joined her cousin; dragging Jane along.

Maura swallowed hard. The social schedule could have hardly gone worse. Nobody was aware of their argument and it was now time to celebrate a wedding. There was no room for drama. Nothing.

"Why hello, Jane..." Champagne in hand, Constance stepped into the room and stopped right by the detective. "How are you doing?"

With great self-control – if it weren't for an ephemeral flinch of her smile – the Italian nodded. "I'm fine, thank you. It's nice to see you here... So, you were in Brazil?"

"Yes, I was. There is a gallery in Sao Paolo that would be interested in my work so I went to meet the owner. Hopefully the exhibition will be up and running by May."

Jane was about to add something when the clinking of a spoon against a glass made everyone turn around; herself included. The conversations stopped as Apolline and James waved at the crowd.

The woman was all smile. Fair enough. She would be married to the man of her life within a few hours, now. A dream come true.

"Hello, everyone. James and I would like to thank you for being here, today. It means a lot, to us... Really. Lunch will be served within thirty minutes and as the tradition goes, the rest of the day will be dedicated to a long walk to the lake where our photographer will immortalize the consecration... Of... Months and months of stress!" Apolline giggled and cast an amused glance at James who nodded. She raised her glass to bring a toast. "To family and love."

The crowd echoed her words. Joyfully.

...

When? When would they be able to speak? Smiling for the hundredth time to a relative, Maura let a sigh of despair pass her lips.

They had faked it. Completely. During lunch, during the walk that had taken everyone to the lake. They had pretended that nothing had happened and had remained quietly next to each other like any couple.

Except they weren't one, not really. Unless they were? The honey blonde wrinkled her nose before such uncertainty.

All she knew was that they were walking on a thin line right now, a limit that just separated two worlds: the one of friendship from the one of lovers.

"Jane! Maura! Come over here..." Waving cheerfuly at them, Apolline winked and grinned. She looked ecstatic. And maybe a bit tipsy.

Both women obliged; a forced smile on their lips. If they had managed to escape from inquisitive – way too personal – questions until now, the photoshoot seemed to be inevitable.

"This is my cousin, Maura, and her girlfriend. Aren't they cute? A bit uptight, though." Apolline winked again, this time at the photographer. Then she shrugged at the scientist. "Why, it is true! I still have to see you kiss. You barely hold hands and such. We are open-minded, Jane, you know. Ask Spooky Mo'. We have nothing against it."

The brunette nodded timidly. Yes, Apolline was obviously tipsy. And she still had to get an explanation over the strange nickname. But politely enough, she simply approached the future married couple – along with Maura – and accepted to strike the pose.

"Alright, come on. I so want you to listen to my friend, Andy. She is a singer and lives in New York. You are going to love her!" Over-enthusiastic, Apolline grabbed Jane's hand to drag her where a crowd of guests had gathered.

A blonde was playing acoustic music along with some guy who oddly looked like her. Her brother, perhaps. Maura joined the group silently – accepted a mug of mulled wine – and straightened up as the first notes of a song pierced the air.

Andy began to sing, her face embraced by the multicolored - electric - tinsels that were hanging around on the branches of old trees. The scene was almost surreal, magical. Unforgettable.

Standing next to Jane, Maura suddenly paid attention to the lyrics and froze; closed her eyes as if to prevent tears from passing under her eyelids before running down her cheeks. They hadn't talked at all, hadn't looked at each other; just sat side by side and struck the pose when needed on pictures. It hadn't gone any further.

Because they needed to speak.

And now this.

If she hadn't known better, Maura would have said that fate was mocking them; playing one of its cruel game with their bruised, hesitant hearts. She looked down at the ground and swallowed hard; rocked by the delicate voice of Andy and the weight of the song she had chosen to perform now.

_Love is you_

_You and me_

_Love is knowing_

_We can be_

In a perfect world – in the best movie scenario – the lyrics would have been enough to sweep away any kind of misunderstanding and through a simple gaze, they would have made peace.

But reality wasn't that easy. No. It was bitter, slow.

Burning.


	16. How To Keep On Dancing

_**Author's note: thank you for the reviews; as for the length of my chapters, I already said I could hardly write more. The last one was 1,780 and the previous one 1,950 or so. I don't find this to be particularly short. My paragraphs are, though. But it's intentional.**_

**Chapter Sixteen: How To Keep On Dancing**

She had been running for an hour now, out in the cold; through a thick mist. It hadn't helped that much, she still felt guilty. Stopping by a tree, Jane closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had awoken at 5.30am only to slip out of bed as discreetly as she had found the warmth of the blanket – late in the night the evening before – knowing that at this hour Maura would have already been sleeping. She was not ready for a face-to-face.

Yet she didn't have much of a choice.

Reluctantly, she took her cell phone out of her pocket and looked at the screen for long seconds. It was late in Boston but she had to do it. And now. She could feel the urge of the whole thing, there deep inside her heart. It wouldn't leave her alone and kept on floating around like a ghost laughing at her poor mind.

Scared – feeling immensely lonely – she dialed the number and crossed her arms against her chest then waited. Not for very long though.

She frowned, took a deep breath. _Here we go._

"Hi, ma'."

...

The ceremony had been beautiful and if it weren't for the heavy silence between her and Jane then Maura would have kept nice memories from this day.

Without addressing each other and after the whole morning having avoided to find themselves in the same room at the same time, they had reunited again in one of the cars that had taken them to the church. Sitting side by side, they had politely followed the ceremony then headed with the rest of the guests towards the mansion where the party would be held after the traditional line-up to congratulate the newly weds.

"Is everything okay with Jane? You two look distant, today." A glass of champagne in hand, Amy raised an eyebrow at Maura.

The scientist shrugged, looked down. "Every couple has ups and downs."

And she lacked courage herself to actually go and confront Jane in spite of her mother's insistent – if not just forceful – gaze on her every now and then. They hadn't had much time anyway. The last few hours had literally flown away and it was now a moment of celebration. It would have to wait. Again.

Someway. Somehow.

"Why did you argue? Life is short, Yankee. Don't lose time with that..."

Maura chuckled bitterly and pursed her lips. "Since when are you so wise?"

Amy frowned and looked down at her hands: alcohol in one, cigarettes in the other. That didn't fit much into any wisdom scenario as far as she knew.

"Since my dear Bostonian cousin turned out to be in love... Hey, Rizzoli!" The woman yelled rather frankly at Jane who approached immediately, more to make her turn quiet again than anything else. "Don't you think it is time for you to invite your lady for a dance?" Amy turned around and winked at Maura. "You'd better invite me to your wedding. Now enjoy your foreplay before some love making session to make peace." She left them, focused as she was on the idea of getting a champagne refill.

"You want to dance?" Jane's question resounded low, timid and uncertain. First words they actually exchanged since their argument the day before. She would have never assumed that these would be the ones.

Not even in her craziest scenarios.

But Maura nodded, swallowing hard. "Sure..." And without adding anything else, she made her way to the improvised dancefloor where fifty guests or so were already moving to the pace of a live jazz band.

Some sort of slow dancing. Their very first one together, actually.

A bit clumsily, Jane grabbed Maura's hand before pulling her closer to her own body. They began to dance. Quietly. Slowly. The contact – even if fragile – was warm and the Italian abandoned herself to it for a while, barely daring to properly enjoy it after the last hours they had gone through. Distressed, she cast a glance around and bit her lower lip.

_It's now or never._

She slightly bent over – without any warning – and approached her lips from Maura's ear. "I talked to ma', this morning. I told her everything." Her hot breath slid along the blonde's neck, sending a shiver down her spine.

It was the strangest conversation she had ever had. Made of whispers, lost among a crowd of joyful dancers. The most important talk of her life as well.

Maura seemed surprised by the revelation and – a bit speechless – simply nodded. Jane decided to take advantage of the honey blonde's silence to keep on talking. She couldn't stop now. Not after what she had just said.

The brunette shrugged and looked down, not really knowing where to start. "She thinks I'm an idiot... I think so too." She marked a pause and finally locked her eyes with the medical examiner's while her hand tightened its grip on her friend's. "I overreacted. I'm sorry. I guess there were too many things going on and I started panicking. My words were not directed to you but to myself for not being able to go and assume the whole thing... Assume my feelings."

Aware of friends and relatives almost brushing them on the dancefloor, Maura took a deep breath to calm her heartbeats. In vain. She was on the verge of passing out.

The notion of intimacy such conversation required seemed to be reduced to a strict minimum.

She shook her head. "I shouldn't have misled you in the first place. I owe you apologies as well... I haven't been honest and this is not correct."

They both let a few seconds pass by, trying to make theirs such improvised reconciliation right in the middle of a slow dance.

"Do you really think that I would have cheated on you with James, though?" Maura frowned and bit her thumbnail. She was worried.

Jane rolled her eyes and shook her head. "No... You're an upstanding person. I was just in full panic mode because I love you and I didn't know how to deal with it. This is the kind of shit you get by hanging out with a Rizzoli. We're not the smartest peeps around. I mean look at my brothers. And if..."

Maura stopped dancing, taken aback by Jane's tirade and forcing her to put an end to her slow dance moves as well.

"You love me?" The blonde's question hit the air with uncertainty; as if she hadn't heard it properly. She blinked, shook her head; made a step backwards.

Jane blushed. _Oh yes, well done, Rizzoli. Now that was one way to spill it out. Dammit, when ma' said you had to be sincere and to open up if you wanted to have a chance to get a friendly welcome back to Boston, she didn't mean that you had to throw it all like that between two anecdotes about Frankie and Tommy._

"Of course." Jane made a face. Perhaps she should have – one more time – chosen other words to say to Maura. "I mean... Yes, I do." She took a deep breath. "I love you."

Silence.

Why was the honey blonde not moving an inch? This was not how one was supposed to react to this kind of statement. Unless they wanted their interlocutor to succumb to panic as Jane was on the verge to.

"I know I say at times I'm slutty but you don't have to take it literally. I don't sleep with people just for the sake of it." Jane's attempt to sound funny fell flat before Maura's utter lack of reaction. She had frozen, in shock. Suddenly worried, the detective frowned and pressed her friend's wrist. "Are you going to be alright?"

The scientist nodded slowly before rushing to Jane's lips for an unexpected kiss that made the brunette lose her balance completely. A hand on her back, Maura prevented her from falling down and clutched to her nape. She smiled against her mouth – broke apart – and leaned her forehead against Jane's as she renewed with these addicting butterflies in her stomach. The ones the mere contact with the detective stirred up over and over to the point they made her feel dizzy.

"I love you too..."

The murmur got lost in the background, stifled by the music and the conversations going on around. But it reached Jane nonetheless. With all its strength. A grin played on the brunette's lips as her eyes looked up to find warm hazel ones a few inches away from her face.

"Is there anything else I should know before kissing you again? Any other role that I am supposed to play?"

The question made Maura smile. She shook her head; her thumb caressing peacefully the back of the detective's hand. She had made abstraction of the room, of life going on around them. Time in its purest form seemed to have stopped to wrap the two of them in the most delicate embrace.

With subtlety and grace.

"Oh, please... Go get a room, Yankees!"

Amy's comment took them out of their bubble. They laughed but – instead of blushing before such a scene – Jane and Maura leaned over towards each other for another kiss. A long awaited one. Light.

Sealing a thousand things that didn't require words to be lived.


	17. How To Imagine Life With Jane

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews!**_

**Chapter Seventeen: How To Imagine Life With Jane**

"Ah shit!" Jane tripped over a pair of shoes abandoned on the floor and landed on top of Maura's suitcase rather loudly. For someone who had tried to remain discreet, she had just failed miserably.

"What are you doing?" Half-asleep, the honey blonde leaned up on her elbows from the bed – cast one of her confused glance at the Italian – and frowned.

Jane pouted, obviously upset. "I was trying to not wake you up."

Maura giggled and sat up in bed; holding the sheet against her bare chest. She bit her lower lip and looked around. "But where are you going to?" Hand in front of her mouth. Yawn. "It is barely 6am."

Back up on her feet, the detective turned around to grab the first piece of clothing she could find. It was definitely not warm enough to go out wearing nothing but hipsters and a woolen sweater. Even less the place to do so.

"Jane... You are putting on a kilt. This is a male outfit, here." Amused by the unusual scene, Maura settled back against the pillows and watched how the brunette tried to deal with the Scottish attire.

"I'm thirsty... And craving orange juice. Do you want something?"

The medical examiner smirked – shrugged – then nodded. "You." Her cheeks turned pink under the obvious boldness of her answer. Not that the rest of the night had been any quieter.

Jane laughed nervously and – still holding the kilt with her hands – approached the bed to capture the honey blonde's lips in a soft kiss.

"You know that you don't even have to ask for this..."

The remark made Maura smile. In all honesty, she would have been fine with doing nothing at all as long as she was in Jane's arms. She simply wanted to feel her against her own body, nourish herself of her scent; her warmth. The rest was optional. She wanted Jane for who she was.

"Orange juice?"

The scientist nodded and let her lover go before tightening her grip on the blanket and staring a bit dreamly at the ceiling.

After their first dance together the day before, everything seemed to have – easily – fallen back into place. Like a jigsaw of some sort. A beautiful one. They had enjoyed their time at the reception, at the party hosted by Apolline and James. And later in the night – long after the last dance and a last Whiskey – they had headed back to their bedroom hand in hand.

Without the slightest untold thing.

A lightness had risen from the moment, from the honest they finally shared. Something that hadn't left them anymore and there they were, now: still intoxicated – the morning after – by the strength of their feelings.

A delicate quietness had spread over their life.

...

"You know... This would be seen as a sacrilege by many Scottish people." Sunglasses on – suffering from an abuse of alcohol the day before – Amy stepped into the kitchen and stopped to look at Jane.

The Italian blushed.

Why? Why had she had to find nothing but a kilt to put on? What had happened to her clothes? Or Maura's? Had a mysterious force taken them away during the night? Their bedroom was large but still, it wasn't a penthouse.

"Are you at least sticking to the tradition?" Amy smirked and focused on the inch of thigh that had just appeared through the fabric. "You know about it, don't you? I doubt Maura didn't throw herself into some sort of a debrief before coming here with you."

"I'm afraid I'm not... Going commando right now... If that's what you're talking about." Juice bottle in hand, Jane closed back the fridge and passed by Amy. "You're an early bird."

The woman shook her head. "Not much but Amadeus woke me up. Seems like you weren't quiet enough for him to stay in your room, last night. And don't tell me I am wrong. I can see it on your face, Yankee."

"How come you don't call Maura 'Spooky Mo' as Apolline does?" Still holding firmly the kilt that menaced to go down any minute, Jane stopped by the door and squinted her eyes at Amy. She had meant to ask about the nicknames since she had arrived but hadn't had a chance until now.

The woman raised an amused eyebrow and smiled while grabbing a couple of crackers. She began to chew on them; leaned against the table.

"Oh, I used to... But then she moved to the United States so 'Yankee' turned out to be more... You know, appropriate."

"And why 'Spooky Mo'? Where does this come from?" It wasn't the best moment to ask – she did crave to find back Maura's arms – but Jane had to or else she had the feeling that she would never know about it.

"Well, your future wife – and she'd better be – was a bit strange at a child... Already into forensics and autopsies. Needless to say that Apolline and I used to find it a bit spooky. However, she never seemed to believe in UFOs. Nothing paranormal. Just a huge science geek."

Jane nodded. This she could definitely believe.

"Good morning... Jane?" Constance stepped into the kitchen and raised a surprised eyebrow at the brunette as she noticed the outfit she was wearing.

"I see that you are wearing the tartan of the family!" Proud of his disciple, Tuppence walked in as well and winked at the brunette who wanted nothing but to disappear at the scene.

What was it that all the family had decided to get up now, so early? Couldn't they oversleep like any normal person? Especially after the celebrations of the day before.

"Good morning, everyone... This is just a... Err... A very temporary outfit."

Constance laughed lightly and shared a knowing smile with Amy before shaking her head at a very mortified Jane.

"Say hello to my daughter for me, please. Oh and make sure she is available around noon. We may go to visit a friend who would love seeing her. You can join, of course. This gives you almost five hours to... _Get ready_... I suppose it is enough, isn't it?"

Even once she would have closed back the door of the bedroom behind her, Jane would feel a bit embarrassed. Yet now she knew where Maura's free attitude regarding sex came from. It ran in the family. From her mother to her cousin, they all owned this nonchalance that made her blush deeply.

"I thought you would never come back, here."

Dropping the kilt, Jane rushed to the bed – put the bottle of orange juice on the bedside table – and rolled her eyes before settling back in Maura's arms.

"Blame your family. They were keeping me as a hostage. Amy, your mother, Tuppence... They were all in the kitchen, slightly mocking my attire. And before I forget, your mother wants you out of bed before noon. An old friend to visit or something."

Maura closed her eyes and let a hand run absentmindedly through her lover's hair.

"I highly doubt so. It was her own way to let me know that Laurence's house wasn't the appropriate place for a full day in bed having sex."

"Why they don't have friends, here?" Jane frowned. She didn't know Maura's mother that well even if she had learned to enjoy her presence around when in Boston but she hadn't assumed the artist – with her typical nonchalance – would ask something like that to her daughter.

"They do but they were at the party, last night. That's why I think it is a subterfuge from her part... That being said – and since we are leaving tomorrow – I would like to show you the area a bit. We only went to Plockton and the lake when there are so many things to see. So many places where I'd like to take you."

Jane wrinkled her nose. It was not that she wasn't eager to see some more of Scotland before going back – anxiously enough – to Boston but it was cold outside when Maura's arms were so inviting. She wouldn't have minded spending the whole day in bed, doing nothing but talk; quietly let the hours fly away.

"But it's snowing, Maur'... Can't we just stay in and... I don't know... Do nothing special? Chill out. That'd be great."

Anything that wouldn't remind her that within a few hours, Scotland would only be a memory and nothing else anymore. It wasn't that she didn't feel like seeing her family and colleagues back but there was a lot of apprehension too. A lot of uncertainty. She was barely starting something with Maura that the stress of their daily life was already tightening its grip back on them. She wasn't fond of the idea.

Confused – taken aback – Maura rolled on her side and raised an eyebrow at Jane. "You are asking me to spend the whole day here with my relatives? Really? This includes Scottish lessons, some art monologue and a lot of innuendos about us."

Jane shrugged, smiled. "Your family isn't that bad." She paused and locked her eyes with Maura's. "But right now I have other priorities and only five hours to fulfill them so if you don't mind, let's postpone this discussion for a while..."

And before the medical examiner had a chance to reply, Jane passed on top of her to steal her smile through a kiss.


	18. Epilogue

**Chapter Eighteen: Epilogue**

"What are we doing here, Yankees? This is a non-smoking area. Are you trying to kill me?" Amy shook her head at Jane and Maura while sitting down in a booth; pint in hand. With a gesture rather explicit – betraying her annoyance – she put back her pack of cigarettes in her bag and sighed.

"I am certain that you can handle four hours without smoking." Maura paused and looked down at the table. "As long as you have beer..."

Instead of taking it bad, the woman nodded enthusiastically and took a long a sip of her Guinness. Jane smiled at the scene. She would miss Amy and her exhuberant temper. As a matter of fact, she would miss many people; from Tuppence to William, Amy's brother. And Scotland.

Maura had won the day before and had dragged her around a bit; to small villages, other lakes. The Italian had to recognize that it was a beautiful country and she was now eager to come back to see more of it.

"How come you are traveling Business and not First Class? Your mother would have a heart attack if she happened to know about it."

The scientist wrinkled her nose. In all honesty, she wasn't particularly happy either. Their flight was long enough for them to enjoy the comfort of First Class. Especially as she wouldn't have a day off once in Boston and would have to head straight to the morgue. Extremely bad schedule.

"I have no choice but to take this flight and it turns out that there isn't any First Class." Sipping on her own beer, Maura cast a glance at the terminal around her.

The airport was packed, people coming and going into every single direction. The contrast with the week spent in Plockton was sharp and made her feel slightly dizzy. They would board first and then Amy. Her flight to London left twenty minutes later.

"May would be nice. I think that I am available for last the two weeks. Let me check." Amy took out of her travel bag a datebook and began to leaf through it. Her index finger stopped on the calendar. She nodded, a smile on her lips. "Yes. May would be perfect."

Jane blinked. "For what?"

Maura's cousin scoffed and dared a pale smile at the detective as if she had lost her mind. "Why... Your wedding, of course! You even wear the family's cameo. If this isn't a sign then I don't know what it is."

Jane looked down at her jacket and blushed. She had – indeed – decided to finally wear it. After all, things had changed with Maura. Their relationship had evolved. It was still new and uncertain but it was sure that they both wanted to give it a try; do their best to make it work out.

"But err... Yeah well you know... Err..." Awesome. She was now stuttering. Red like a brick and not able to make a proper sentence. This was a very bad sign for what was waiting for her in Boston. It was a no-brainer that her mother would press her with endless questions, starting with her relation – and a wedding date – as well as a few other private things.

"I think that May is a bit too early. It takes time to organize a wedding, Amy." The honey blonde – on the verge of a panic attack herself – forced a smile and grabbed her lover's hand to hold it tight.

"Oh come on! Who needs a big church and all except for Apolline? I don't really see you in all this big thing, anyway. Something simple will do the trick. Right, Jane? Forget the dress, the flowers... All we need is alcohol and cake."

Jane chuckled and timidly nodded. It wasn't Amy's fault – after all, she had no idea that they hadn't been a couple for more than three days – but the conversation made her feel uncomfortable. Out of nervousness, she started moving on her seat; playing with her own pint of beer.

She and Maura weren't strangers – they did know each other very well – but it was different, now. Passing from friends to lovers was delicate and they needed to learn about it as well. It would take time.

"Why don't you take advantage of this airport to check out rings? There is a very nice Cartier little boutique just at the end of the..."

"Amy!" Maura interrupted her cousin before the woman to lose herself in an endless monologue of some ficticious wedding. "If this ever happens then – believe me – you will be the first one to know but it isn't on our agenda for the moment so... Forget it."

Amy sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Bullshit. I will have more calls from gyneacologists than from you before you two decide to tie the knot."

...

The plane landed on the tarmac peacefully. Almost too much to Jane's taste as it only emphasized the storm of feelings that was now taking place in her mind.

The bright sun of Massachusetts made her wince. She had got used to the gray – pale – light of the Scotland weather. The temperatures were lower in Boston but the sky was blue, making the snow shine all around. A typical winter.

Without a word, she unfasten her seatbelt and went to retrieve for her cabin bag. Maura did as well, in a matching silence.

They hadn't talked much during the flight, preferring to enjoy instead cuddles and light kisses between naps and some reading. Their very last hours to nobody but themselves. They had cherished them more than anything.

And now...

"Do you have everything?" Coat on, Maura cast a glance at Jane before walking down the alley to exit the plane.

Her heart was beating fast and her hands were moist. She was anxious, about a thousand things. And if a few of them would get solved very quickly, others would remain in the hands of fate for quite a long time before her to really have the chance to feel in peace with everything.

Hopefully.

They stepped into the airport and waited in line – passport in hand – to pass the customs. They were tired, in need of a shower. Feeling too rushed by the time and life going on around them.

"In a perfect world, I would turn around and take the first flight out of the city. With you."

Jane's remark took Maura out of her nervous daydreams. She turned around to look at the brunette and squinted her eyes at her. Five more people waiting in line before them to have a chance to go through it and retrieve their suitcases.

"Where would you like to go to?"

Jane made a face and looked suspiciously around her. "Is this a new fantasy game? You know I did not like much the whole wedding fantasy thing the last time you made me play."

"Even if it includes you?"

The question passed the medical examiner's lips before she had a chance to realize what she was saying. Her sudden boldness made her blush. She looked down and turned her back at Jane in the hope her comment would pass unnoticed.

In vain.

"Was I in your fantasy? Was I the person you were thinking about when talking to me about Greece, about Santorini?"

Now finding a brand new interest in her passport, Maura shrugged and bit her lips. She was rushing into things. This was not a good idea. Too many times in the past already she had done this and just proved how wrong it was. People tended to run away from her afterwards.

Yet she couldn't lie.

"Maybe...?"

Jane didn't reply, didn't add anything. Instead, she waited patiently for her turn and then walked to the luggage area to grab her suitcase. Maura by her side.

Both appeared more or less at the same time. Without a word, they respectively took their luggage and turned around towards the exit doors. The place they had dreaded since the very beginning for knowing what it meant.

Once they would pass them, everything would be different.

Absolutely everything.

Maura began to walk towards it, echoing the brunette's steps loudly. The doors opened. She looked around and spotted Angela slightly on the side. The matriarch waved at them. As planned, she had come to pick them up.

And she knew everything.

Not really knowing how to react before all of this, Maura smiled at her and walked in her direction. It might have been stupid but she felt embarrassed by the whole situation. She had left Boston as a friend of her daughter and came back as something more. A lot more.

She cast a glance at Jane. The Italian looked tense, chin up in spite of everything. After all, she was not going through anything easier. On the contrary. Maura didn't know much what she had told her mother over the phone but obviously Jane had put words on something she had kept for herself for a lot of years. One of her deepest secrets, heavy source of insecurities.

"Here we go..." Jane's hoarse voice resounded low, slightly shaking.

But as she passed an arm on Maura's waist – protectively – she knew that everything would turn out to go smoothly.

The End - to be continued

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all your reviews during this story; I am glad to see that you liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it. As some were wishing for these past few days, I will write a sequel mostly centered on Jane and Maura's wedding. I will post the first chapter tomorrow and hope you will enjoy it!**_

_**ps: "Guest walks by", for some reason, I love this name. It cracks me up every time I see it. **_


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